Why Do You Hate Me So Much?
by Tesilia
Summary: Juvia L. undergoes a change and joins Fairy Tail. She's quite popular because of her new eye-catching looks. Everything is perfect, if there were not Gray Fullbuster, the only mage who can't go well with her. Every time she tries to be friends with him, she ends up being hurt. How long can she endure this?
1. Chapter 1

**CHAPTER 1**

 **Juvia's POV**

Konnichiwa minna!

My name is Juvia Lockser, I'm 19 years old and I moved to Magnolia just two months ago. It is really pretty here. I already met some people and became friends with them. One of them is Lucy. Somehow it feels like I have known her my whole life. We always have fun together when we go shopping or when we're just chillin' at the park.

I also have a wonderful boyfriend and a big house, where I live together with him.

My life is just perfect as it is now.

I really appreciate this, because in my past many things didn't go very well. I didn't have many friends. Well, honestly I didn't have anyone. Then, I couldn't control my powers (I'm a water mage), so I ended up bringing the rain everywhere where I went. It was annoying. People called me names and so I was alone the most time. Furthermore, I was extremely shy.

And I also had this embarrassing habit to speak in third person. I'm glad I could get rid of it. Oh! And the weirdest thing of all was, that I was ALWAYS dressed up all blue. After all it was my favorite color. But people gave me strange looks. I didn't feel comfortable anymore, so I decided to change myself. I wanted to show them how I really was, _who_ I really was. Time passed.

Now, I'm more open and communicative. I trained hard and was able to control my powers. Actually I am stronger than before. I enjoy dressing different clothes (revealing clothes as well, since my boyfriend likes it too ~( ￣▽￣~ )). I made new, really nice friends and this makes me happy.

Of course some things didn't change at all. For example, I'm the same clumsy person as I was before. I still like to help people at all costs and I try not to bother them with some "little" problems I have. I think I don't want to show them my weak side. Maybe this is stupid, but I don't want to see their sad faces. This reminds me of my parents, how they looked when I played alone and never invited someone to my birthday party. I like it, when everyone smiles, therefore I will just keep those things to myself.

Well, I think this is enough for my self-introduction.

Two weeks ago, Lucy asked me to join her guild Fairy Tail. And so I did. Well, I needed a job anyway. At least I already knew some of Fairy Tail's mages, like Natsu, Erza, Levi, Laxus, Mira, Gajeel and Lucy of course.

Tomorrow, my five-day job with Lucy should be finished and I'm looking forward to see everyone.


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2**

 **Juvia's POV**

*beep beep* *beep beep*

..

…

 _Arghh! Was it already morning? I slowly sat up and rubbed my eyes. Ouh! My arms feel a little bit tired. After all, the fight yesterday was a bit challenging. But we made it!_

 _Today we had to search the last section of the forest for some dangerous monsters._

 _When we chose this request, we knew that this forest was VERY big, so we divided it into five sections. Each section on each day._

"Oi! Lucy! Wake up!" I said. I gently shook her out of her sleep.

"Ouhh Lucy! We really need to get ready!"

No reaction.

 _Tzz. I guess I don't have a choice now but to do THAT. I hope Natsu is right with Lucy being very ticklish._

I sprung at her and started to tickle her everywhere.

Not even past a few seconds passed and then she burst in laughter.

"BUWAHAHAHA! J-Juviaaa! Ple...Plea..Please! I- I can't t-take it..anymor-more!" she shouted.

I finally stopped."Man! This was fun." I giggled.

"Anyway, what time is it?" Lucy asked me.

"It's already 9 a.m.!" I answered.

"What?! Didn't you say yesterday that we were supposed to wake up at 8 a.m.?"

"Well, yeah! But I was so tired that I set the alarm one hour later. Gomen ne!" I said while folding my hands and winking with one eye.

"Naah! It's okay! How do you feel? Could you regain your power?"

"Mhhh! I slept really well, so I'm in top form!" I said as I stretched my arms. "And you?"

"Me too. It was a bit tough but I feel awesome today!"

"Then, should we get ready?"

"Yeah, come on!"

We dressed ourselves very quickly and headed on our last adventure day to the last section of the forest.

"J-Juvia, I think I-I've found it." Lucy stuttered and pointed to the THING behind the huge trees in front of us.

"Oh my Mavis.. What the hell is that?" I looked shocked.

"It reminds me of a big mutant Gollum." Lucy said.

"Look Lucy! He.. he.. eats the trees?" _Now I''m confused._ I looked behind this monster's shoulder and saw all trees ripped out of the ground. _If this goes on he will destroy the whole forest. I can't_ _allow this._

I stepped forward and begun to attack him with Water Slicer. It only caused minimal damage.

 _How can that be? He shouldn't be so strong. I mean, this is supposed to be a simple request._

"Wait, I'll try to set him on fire! Maybe this is helpful." Lucy said.

"No, wait! Don't do tha-" I couldn't finish my sentence and she already summoned her spirit Sagittarius, who shot magical arrows at the Monster. He immediately caught fire.

"Lucy, at this rate, the whole forest will be burnt down!" I shouted.

Lucy's eyes widened. "Damn. I didn't think through it!"

"Let me end this. I'll try to catch him in Water Lock." I suggested.

Lucy nodded and moved aside. "Close, Gate of the Archer!"

As Sagittarius disappeared and I managed to raise a big amount of my magical powers, I focused on that one thing.

 _Hell, this is difficult. But I'm gonna' do this. I CAN do this._

*Shuuuuuuuuuuuuushhhhhhh*

I did it! A giant water bubble appeared around this monster and Sagittarius' magical fire extinguished due to the lack of oxygen. Without oxygen, fire can not expand. Also, the Gollum-like monster couldn't breathe anymore. Now it was also easy to save the trees that caught fire.

"Puuuh! The fight is finally over." I fell on my knees to the ground.

"Oi! Juvia! You okay?" Lucy ran to me.

I looked up to her and grinned from ear to ear. "Absolutely!" She too gave me a big smile. We high-fived and then I cleaned the dust from my knees and my clothes.

"So let's go back. It will be a long way, since we are at the end of the forest." Lucy said.

"Yeah, you're right."

It took us almost three hours to go back. _How time flies! We talked the entire time, so I didn't notice that we_ _were_ _already near the train station._

"Yosh! Now we just need to find the train to Magnolia." Lucy said.

"I think it's this way. Straight forward and then to the right side." I pointed to the direction.

"Wow! Considering, that you usually don't know how to go by train, this is pretty impressing!"

"Yeah.." I sweat dropped. _Maybe I shouldn't tell her that I only recognized it because of the claw machine with the tons of_ _sweet stuffed animals, which is exactly in front of our platform. (~ *v* )~_

"Oh look, who is there!"

"Hm?" I was so deep in thoughts that I didn't realize that we met Erza.

"Erza? What are you doing here?" I asked her.

"Juvia! Lucy! Nice to see you guys! Well, I just finished my mission and I am heading now back to the guild." She said as we continued walking.

"Wait, is that Natsu?" I asked the two girls beside me and pointed to the guy in front of us.

"Yeah, I met him and Gray just few minutes ago." Erza said.

Lucy ran to the two boys who were walking some meters ahead us. The left one was Natsu.

"Natsu, how are you?" Lucy hugged him.

"Lucy! Long time no see! I thought you would end up biting the dust." Natsu laughed.

"Naaatsuuu! This ain't funny!" She hit his shoulder and pouted.

"Hahaha, I get it. So how was your job?"

"It was great, right Juvia?" Lucy looked back to me.

"Yeah, it was a cinch! Nothing we couldn't handle." I smiled and put my hands behind my head.

"This is great" Erza said.

"Yeah, you should have seen how Juvia fought against the last one. He was like a giant and she just created an enormous water bubble to finish him." Lucy reported.

Suddenly, the raven haired boy next to Natsu moved his head a little and looked at me over his shoulder.

"Hmpf." was all that came from him. Then he looked away.

 _Okaaay.. That was a bit strange._

"Ahh, Juvia!" Lucy came to me smiling. "What do you wanna do, when we are back?"

"Hmmm. I think I'll go home and take a shower first and after that I go to bed."

"Your boyfriend must have missed you!"

"I guess.."

"Can you introduce him to us?"

"I would love to! But Nicco is on a business trip at the moment."

"Too bad. Then next time!"

"Sure!"

"Huh? She has a boyfriend and dresses up like _that_?" The guy next to Natsu looked at me again.

It was a really low voice and I'm sure nobody heard it, BUT I DID.

 _What's up with him? Who is he anyway? A mage of Fairy Tail? I haven't seen him yet._

"Hi! My name is Juvia Lockser. I'm new in Fairy Tail." I smiled at him.

"Yeah, I don't care." He replied annoyed.

 _O_O Did I do something to you? This is awkward._


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter 3**

 **Lucy's POV**

 _Did I just hear right?_

"Gray, how can you say something like that to Juvia?" I scolded him. "She only introduced herself to you and there you reject her for no reason!"

"Lucy, it's okay. It isn't such a big deal." Juvia tried to calm me down.

"Even so! This isn't how he should treat his nakam-"

"LUCY, it's fine! Really!" Juvia interrupted me and smiled softly.

I looked at Gray angrily. "Tch." he hissed and looked away.

 _Seriously, what is going on in his mind? Usually he isn't this cold.._

 **Juvia's POV**

 _Puuh! Just in time. I don't want them to fight over such a dumb issue. I mean, if he doesn't want to be friends with me, I'm okay with that. I didn't do something wrong, did I? Maybe he is just in a bad mood. When you look closely to his face, you can see how_ _serious he looks. Somehow he really seems to be pissed off. You can nearly see a vein on his temple. Just how high is his blood pressure? ~_ _(^_ ▽^ _)_

 _Shoot! o_o He's looking in my way. Whoa, those eyes are full of darkness, they give me the creeps._

I looked immediately down onto the ground.

"Guys, you must forgive ice pickle! You know, he lost a fight with me and now is sulking." Natsu laughed and patted Gray's head.

"Dafuq?! What did you just say flame brain? Bring it on!"

"This is not the time to play games!" Erza said between the two boys and pushed them apart.

 **Gray's POV**

 _Tch! What the hell is wrong with them?! I just wanted to go back as fast as we can, so I could FINALLY sleep. And what happens?_

 _The silence is broken. I got scolded by Lucy. Natsu made me upset once more. And of all, that Lockser-girl is SO annoying. It's her fault, I even got this trouble._

 ***Ding Ding* *The train to Magnolia is getting in. Please be careful when you enter.***

We saw the train coming. You could hear the big noise it made when braking. The doors opened slowly and a lot of people came out of the train. We waited until the last person got out and then we got in, me at first.

I chose the nearest four-seat and sat at the window side. Then Natsu came and sat beside me. After him that Lockser-girl and she also sat down at the window side, facing me.

 _Nghh. I don't want her stupid face to be in my way. -_-'_

Then Lucy came and sat next to her. Apparently, Erza chose somewhere else to sit.

 _No wonder, with her extremely large luggage!_

After a few minutes the train started to move.

"Natsu, are you okay?"

"Yeah, yeah, Lucy! My stomach just aches a bit. Nothing serious." _said the guy, who's face is already green.. Don't you dare puke all over me! =_=_

"Hm. Well, if you say so."

…

(after 20 minutes)

…

 _Maaaan! I'm so sleepy! But how can I sleep here, when next to me there is a ticking puking time bomb?!_

I looked out of the window and recognized Magnolia's forest. _Huh? This means, we are almost there._ I looked around. That Lockser-girl fell asleep. Her head was leaning against the window.

The train slowed down. I could see how her head was now slowly slipping off.

 _Ouh! If this continues, she will smack her head right into the little side table, when the train finally stops. Serves her right! Now her head is almost 10 centimeters away from the table. And here comes the final braking!_

 ***Bang***

 _This was funny. What a great show!_ (´∀`)

 **Juvia's POV**

 _Ouch! My forehead hurts. T_T How could this happen?_

I immediately rubbed the aching place with my hand. I looked out of the window. We already arrived. I looked at Lucy. Her eyes were closed and she wore headphones. Then at Natsu. _Oh my he doesn't look okay.._ And lastly at Gray.

 _Huh, he's looking me in the eyes? Wait a moment? Did he lookat me the whole time? Even when I crashed my head onto the table? Why didn't he wake me up earlier? Don't tell me, he did this on purpose.. Tzz. What a jerk. =_=_

Without a single emotion he stood up and got out of the train. I quickly woke up Lucy and helped her to get Natsu out. Outside I looked at Gray, who didn't dare to face me.

 _Do you really dislike me this much? ._._


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter 4**

 **Juvia's POV**

Natsu felt better now. We all walked to the guild and stopped in front of it, where I said my goodbyes. I headed back to my home. It didn't take much time, maybe 12 minutes.

When I saw my house, I remembered that I forgot my keys. Again. _Pff! When will I manage to take my keys WITH me when leaving the house?_

I looked around to check if anybody was there. Then I lifted the flowerpot which was to the right of the door and took my spare key. _How lucky, that I have this secret place.~ ^_^_

I opened the door and put the keys under the flowerpot again.

"Hach! How nice it is to be home again!" I stretched my arms in the air.

 _I'm so exhausted! Maybe I should take a bath first._ I went upstairs and opened the first door leading to my room. There I went to my closet and took out a big white T-shirt and a pair of new underwear. I headed to the bathroom which was exactly next to my room.

The first thing I had to do was run the bath full of hot water. In the meantime, I took off my clothes and placed them in the washing machine. I clicked a few buttons and there it started to work.

I stood up and looked in the mirror.

 _Gosh! My forehead is still red! T_T Gray, that idiot! Today was the first time I met him and I can already say that he doesn't like me. Did I leave such a bad impression on him? Whatever! Tomorrow is a new day and maybe I can settle some differences._

I turned off the tap and slowly stepped into in the bath. _Ouh! This feels good!_

 _.._

(After 20 minutes)

...

 _My eyelids feel so heavy. I wish I could just sleep here. After this five-day mission, this is just the best way to relax yourself. It's so warm and comfortable. I think it_ _was a great idea to put some bath supplement in the water! Now the whole room smells like lavender._ ~( ￣▽￣~ )

 _Whoa! How nice it would be to change the smell of the water! *-* Maybe I could find something in the books in the library. Perhaps Levi knows something about it. I should ask her sometime._

I stepped out of the bath tub and wrapped myself in a towel. Then I dressed and went to my room. As long as my hair dried, I checked my mobile phone for new messages.

 **-1 New Message-**

 **To:** Juvia

 **From:** Nicco

 **Subject:** -

Hope you had a wonderful day.

Good night, honey!

Love you.

Reply | Delete

 _Ohhh! How sweet of him! \\( '_ ▽ _' ) He isn't home very often because he has lots of business trips, but he still finds some time to send me these cute messages. It always cheers me up._

When my hair was finally dry, I went to bed and fell asleep right away.

 **The next morning**

I woke up quite early. Normally, I'm a long sleeper. I went to the bathroom quickly to wash my face and brush my teeth. _I feel so refreshed and I'm in a good mood too! The day can begin!_

I took a pair of my jeans hot pants and my white belly top which had cute frills at the bottom.

Then I went downstairs and looked in the big mirror on the wall.

 _Yosh! I am ready!_ I put my shoes on and went outside.

..

(After some minutes)

...

 _Damn it! I forgot my keys again! Σ !( =_=) Never mind!_

 **At the guild**

"LUUUUCY~! Good morning!" I hugged her.

"Juvia! Morning. Come on, take a seat a with us!" She pointed with her hand to the table, where Natsu and the others sat.

"Yeah, thanks!" I smiled.

They budged over so I could sit at the end of the bench.

"So what color are you gonna wear, Lucy?" said Levy, who sat in front of me.

"Hmm. I don't know. Maybe something apricot-colored."

"Huh? What are you two talking about? Don't tell me you finally have a date with Natsu!" I smirked at Lucy.

"What?! NO, I don't have a date with HIM!" She blushed.

"A date with whom?" Natsu chimed in our discussion.

"WITH NOBODY!" she shouted.

Levy and I just giggled.

"Anyway, in a few weeks there is the Grand Masked Ball." Levi said.

"Huh?" _I can't follow them._

"Well, every year Fairy Tail holds a big masquerade ball. The whole guild is decorated with fairy lights and other beautiful stuff. I heard that this year, they even want to place a fountain in here. There's gonna be a large buffet too!" Lucy explained.

"Yeah and all the girls dress up in wonderful dresses. And then we dance all night!" Levy added.

"Of course you can bring your boyfriend with you!"

"Guys! This sounds sooo amazing! I'm sure it will be a lot of fun!" I smiled.

 _Well, I hope Nicco will be at home at that time. But even if he didn't come, it would be fine. The dance itself isn't so important to me. I just look forward to spend a great time with my friends. ^_^_

"Hey, I want to buy a drink. Do you need some?" I asked them.

"No, thanks. We're good."

"Okay! I'll be right back then!"

I stood up and just moved a footstep away from the table. Then I felt a little hit.

 _Damn! I didn't look behind me when I stood up and now I ran into someone. =_=_

"Gomenasai! It was an accident. I didn't look behind me!" I apologized as I slowly turned around.

 _Somehow I have a feeling I already know who it is. T_T_


	5. Chapter 5

**Chapter 5**

 **Juvia's POV**

"YOU-" _Shit! It was_ _really_ _Gray._

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to-"

"Lockser! Get out of my way! NOW." He yelled.

"Right.." _Gosh_ _! No need to be so aggressive. ._._

I moved a bit aside so he could go through. With his hands in his pockets he passed by me and slightly bumped into me with his shoulder.

"Ouch!" I quietly backed away.

"Tch." He hissed.

 _Seriously, why are you so rude? ö_ö_

I went to Mira, who was behind the bar.

"Hey Mira!"

"Juvia! You're back from the mission? How'd it go?" She smiled.

"It was easy, though at the end it was a little bit troubling, but we coped with the problem."

"That's good to hear then! What would you like?"

"Black coffee, please."

"Alright. Just wait a moment." She turned around to the coffee machine and started to brew my coffee.

"Okay. Thanks!"

 _It still bothers me what happened just before. And there I thought I could start all over again. Jeez, what a difficult person to deal with.. =_=_

"Phew!" I sighed.

"What was that sigh for?" Mira looked back at me.

"Hm? Oh no, I was just lost in thought.."

"Really?" She looked again to the coffee machine.

"…"

"Say, Mira, this guy.. Gray… What is he like?" I hesitated a bit.

"Hm? What do you mean?"

"Well, is he always this bad-tempered?"

"Gray?! Hahaha, so you've met him already.. Well, he is sometimes a bit cold and you could say, that he has a serious look on his face. I suppose if you don't know him very well, you would assume that he's in a bad mood.. But actually he cares for his comrades and is a good friend too." She smiled gently.

 _Someone like him cares for others? o_o For real? Well, if Mira says so, then it must be true. But still I'm astonished. I didn't expect that answer. A guy like him, whose eyes look like they will kill you instantly, if you come any further to him, has a kind side? This is hard to imagine._ ~( ￣▽￣ ) _Hm. In fact, I don't know him well.. The first impression might deceive. I hope. Maybe I'll give it a try once again. ^_^_

"Here's your coffee! And don't worry about Gray." Mira smiled.

I nodded. "Yeah.."

I took the coffee mug and went back to my seat.

"So what are our plans until the Grand Masked Ball?" I asked Levy and Lucy.

"Shopping of course!" They said at the same time. I giggled.

"But therefore we need money.." Lucy sighed.

"Ehhh? Didn't we just earned money from our five-day mission?"

"Yeah.. But.."

"There is only one shop in Magnolia that sells ball dresses. And they are all handmade. So it costs A LOT." Levy said.

*phew* Now we all sighed.

"Then let's go on a mission together!" I suggested.

"I already signed in on a mission with Shadow Gear." Levy sweat dropped.

"Ohh.." I looked down.

"Juvia, then you can come with me, Natsu and Gray. We've already chose one yesterday. We'll start in three days. So we have a few days to chill."

 _So Gray is also coming.. A perfect moment to learn more about him. ^_^_

"Yeah! That would be great!" I smiled.

"Besides, when exactly is the Grand Masked Ball?"

"In about three weeks."

"WHAT?! And you already want to go on missions to save money?" I said shocked.

 _Just how much do the dresses cost?! O_O_

"Yeah.. You know, since it's the only shop in Magnolia, all the girls will get their dresses from there. Believe me, you want to get a dress as fast as possible. If you take your time with that, the best dresses might be sold." Levy said.

"Plus it really costs a lot." Lucy added.

 _Oh my.. they are really serious with that event._

"Oh yeah, as the name already suggests, you are supposed to wear a mask." Lucy grinned.

"This will be fun!" Levy smiled.

"I wonder if Gajeel asks you out!" Lucy teased Levi and Levi immediately blushed.

 _How cute!_

"I-I don't c-care!" She stuttered. Lucy and me just giggled.

"Ah Lucy-!" It came into my mind again. "Before I forget, what kind of a mission is it actually, that we are going to?"

"Hehe.. This time it isn't an easy one because Natsu needed a challenge again.." She sweat dropped. "There's a little village south to Magnolia, that is threatened by some evil monsters. There are two of them. The villagers call them the _Fire Yetis_ _Siblings_."

" _Fire Yetis Siblings_?" I repeated.

"Yeah. One of them uses ice magic and the other fire." She continued.

"Well, but then it's easy. Natsu can fight against the one who uses ice magic and with my power we can beat up the one who uses fire. This way, their attacks will be nullified."

Lucy shook her head.

"No, it's not that easy. The one who uses ice magic is surrounded by fire. And his sibling who uses fire is surrounded by ice. This is the difficulty. I think it will be better, if I and Natsu fight against the one who's body consists of ice. Thus we can break his defense and can finish him. The same goes for you and Gray with the other one."

"This makes sense. But why I and Gray?"

"'Cause he's an ice mage." She grinned.

 _Ice mage.. huh? No wonder he's so cold.._


	6. Chapter 6

**Chapter 6**

 **At the guild**

 **Juvia's POV**

So it's been a few days since I came back from my mission with Lucy. Today was the last day before we go on a mission, this time with Natsu and Gray.

" _Juvia-chan~_ Come on, drink a beer with us!" I heard a familiar voice behind me and turned around.

"Oh, it's them again." I laughed a bit.

"Seems like your admirers want to spend a nice time with you." Lucy grinned at me.

"Yeah.. I guess."

" _Juvia-chan~_ We are waiting!" "You look so beautiful today, _Juvia-chan~_!" "Come on, drink with us, _Juvia-chan~"_

"..."

" _JUVIA-CHAN_ ~" _So now you are even louder..?_

"DAMMIT! How annoying!" I heard someone strike on a table.

Lucy and I turned to the right and saw Gray going straight to the guys who called out for me.

"Can you PLEASE shut up your mouth?!" He said surprisingly calm, but his deathgaze told something else. Prompt the guys were silent and the group dissolved as everyone went to different corners. Gray sighed and returned to his seat again.

"Great! Now he's pretty pissed."

"Don't worry, he'll calm down! At least you got rid of them."

"I wouldn't be so sure about it.." I mumbled.

"Hm? Did you say something?"

"Nope."

 **At Juvia's home**

 **Juvia's POV**

It was already midnight. I didn't pack my stuff for the mission yet. _With what did I spend the whole day?! =_= Ah, yeah! I was at the guild and amused myself. That's the price for it? T_T Jeez! I'm so sleepy.. Maybe I can do this tomorrow in the morning. Yeah. This is a good idea._

I went to the bathroom and took a quick shower. Then I trotted to my bed and fall asleep.

..

 **The next morning**

…

 _Ugh. The sunlight is too bright! _ Huh? Sunlight?_ I looked at my clock on the wall.

"TWELVE A.M. O_O? CRAP! I overslept!"

I almost fell out of my bed. I hurried to the bathroom to wash my face and quickly brush my teeth. Then I ran to my closet and took my black hot pants and an olive green tank top. After I dressed up, I took my bag and went downstairs to the kitchen (my kitchen is in the back corner of my living room). There I grabbed an apple and put it into my bag.

 _Now I quickly have to put on my shoes and then I can run to the guild.._

I slammed the house door.

"AH! My keys!" _Damn! Never mind, I don't even have time for this. And yesterday Lucy told me not to stay up till night. Gomen Lucy! T_T We are supposed to leave at 12.15 a.m.!_

I sprinted to the guild with all my might and did it in 7 minutes. _Wow! That must be a new record. ~_ ^_^

"Juvia! There you are!"

"Ohayo minna!"

"Ohayo? It's already midday!" Natsu laughed.

"Oh yeah.." I sweat dropped.

"Don't tell me you overslept and just woke up!" Lucy whispered to my ear.

"I think I was so sleepy that I forgot to set the alarm.."

"And then you slept till 12 a.m.?! That's quite amazing!" She laughed.

"Hehe.."

"Guys come on! Let's beat the hell out of the Yetis!" Natsu said enthusiastic.

"Natsu, don't you think that you are too excited for this mission?"

"Is something wrong with it?" He looked bluntly at Lucy.

"N-No..."

"Then let's go!" He ran ahead us. "Ice princess, I bet I make it first to the village!" He shouted back.

"What did you just said, Flame Breath? As if I could lose to someone like you!" Gray shouted to him and ran to catch him up.

"Boys.." Lucy sighed. I giggled. _It's quite amusing, how they behave when it's only the two of them._

…

After walking about an hour we reached the little village. We were shocked. Nobody was outside. No people, no children, no animals. It was very quiet. The houses had holes and looked unstable. Most of them were damaged. You could see some burnt house roofs. The flowers and grass were completely burnt into ashes. There was no sign of life. It looked like a ghost town.

We walked through the streets. Then we noticed some eyes from the windows of some houses. It seems like there were still people but they were hiding.

Suddenly a door opened and a little old man came out.

"C-Could it be th-that y-you are from F-Fairy Tail?" He stuttered.

"Yes, we are."

"And we are here to help you!" Natsu added. "So tell me, where is the enemy? I'm all fired up!" He grinned and rolled up his sleeves.

A hopeful smile appeared on the old man's face. "T-Thank you!" Then he pointed at the mountains right behind the forest of the village. "Can you see those mountains? _They_ come from there. Please be careful!"

"The adventure can begin!"


	7. Chapter 7

**Chapter 7**

 **Juvia's POV**

So here we are. At the foot of the mountains.

"Then let's split up like we discussed before." Lucy said. We nodded in agreement.

"Who will be the first to finish the Yeti, Popsicle?"

"You wanna bet with me, Flame brain?"

"Guys! This is serious!" Lucy shouted at them. They both shrugged. "Aye.."

There were two paths, each of them led to one of the _Fire Yetis Siblings._ Gray and I picked the right route, since Natsu could smell there some fire with his super sensitive dragon nose. In that case the left path remained for Lucy and Natsu.

..

(After some time)

...

 _Now it's been nearly 30 minutes since Gray and I climbed up the mountain_ _and we didn't speak even a WORD to eachother! Are we there, yet? This silence is killing me. T_T_

 _We already reached the interior of the mountain. It was dark and a bit cold._

 _If only I had known this earlier I would have chosen to wear a pair of long trousers. Brrr!_

 _I looked at Gray. The cold doesn't even bother him. Maybe he absorbs the cold_ _in order to live. That would explain his personality. Hehehe.._ ~(￣▽￣~ )

Finally, we saw something! There was a little light at the end. We rushed to where it came from. With every step we took it looked bigger and bigger. It was a straitened passage. Gray went ahead and I followed. Somehow it was getting hotter. This only could mean that we were almost there. And I was right. This passage led to the _Fire Yeti'_ s retreat area. And there we saw him: about 5 meters tall, flaming fur, his eyes were two blue flames and two saber teeth stood out of his mouth. He wasn't as big as the monster I fought with Lucy, but if he caused such damage to the village, he should be quite strong.

"So what is our plan? One distracts him by extinguishing the flames and the other attacks him directly from behind?" I asked Gray.

"Move aside, I'll take him!" He only said.

"Huh? Do you think I can't cope with him?"

"Yeah, that's exactly what I think."

"YOU! I'm not as weak as you think!" Now I raised my voice.

"Shut up! You're annoying."

"Just watch out, you JERK!" With this I turned my back on him and went straight up to the Yeti.

 _Arrrgh! He sets me up! What is his problem? Is it so hard to accept somebody's help? He doesn't even know how strong I am._ _In my past I trained really hard and even expanded my magic. Just wait and see, you idiot! I'm no longer weak._

I tried to create a water bubble again like the one on my last mission. With Water Lock at the beginning his flames should be gone. You could see how steam came out of the bubble, when it came into contact with the fire.

 _Somehow the flames don't go off.. Wait! Does he try to evaporate my water with his heat? O_O I can feel it boiling! No, I can't let that happen!_

I concentrated my power on the temperature of the water. _I need it to cool down! Ugh! This isn't so easy.._ The sweat already dripped off my forehead. _Damn! I need to concentrate more.._ This time I used all my energy. _And it works!_

More steam was generated as slowly the water turned into ice. From the outside to the inside of my Water Lock. I sighed in relief. Suddenly, the Yeti started to attack from the inside, which wasn't frozen yet. His attacks broke through the iced outer layer and went in all directions.

 _It doesn't take any longer to freeze the inside but I can't defend myself now._ Then HE came into my mind. _Gray! Gray, please stop him!_ I looked behind me. He just stood there and watched me. I was shocked. _Why isn't he helping? I need some help!_ Tears were forming around my eyes.

Then I felt something on my leg and on my upper arm. _Itai! That hurts.._ I got hit by the attacks. Blood ran down my body and I could hardly stand on my feet. _Just a little bit!_ There! I managed to freeze the whole water. Then I lost strength in my legs and fell immediately on my knees.

Now Gray walked up to me, his hands in his pockets, and looked down at me.

"See? I told you that you couldn't deal with him."

I was facing the ground. I couldn't believe what he just said.

With his ice magic he created a bow and shot some arrows through my Water Lock which caused the ice bubble to shatter into thousand pieces.

"Come on now! Let's go back." He said like nothing happened at all.

"I can't walk. M-My legs are i-injured.." I whispered, still facing the ground.

Then he bent over and carried me on his back, like kind of a piggyback. I slightly trembled when he touched me.

 _So NOW you_ _'re_ _help_ _ing me_ _?!_ _Yeah. Now I get it. You really can't stand me._ _I won't get in your way anymore._ _You know, just saying would have done_ _it, too.._


	8. Chapter 8

**Chapter 8**

 **Juvia's POV**

 _What's going on? I'm completely exhausted. Somehow my whole body feels so numb._ _I try to open my eyes. Huh? I can't see clearly. Everything is so blurry. Now I can't even keep my eyes open anymore 'cause my eyelids are too heavy. I could only catch a glimpse of the ground. The ground? Now that I notice I can hear some footsteps. Slowly I can feel my body again. Nghh! It hurts quite a lot. I can feel how the breeze slightly touches my legs, it is so cold. Am I moving? Maybe someone is carrying me on his back since I can sense some warmth too. And this smell.. it's familiar._

Unconsciously, I tightened my grip. "Nicco… I've missed you."

"Huh? ..Idiot."

 _Eh? o_o Just now.. that didn't sound like Nicco!_ I opened my eyes again. "GRAY?!" I got frightened when I recalled what happened earlier. _I don't want to be near this person ever again! T_T_

We were almost at our meeting place. I could see Lucy and Natsu.

"Hey guys! What took you so long?" Natsu shouted less far-away from us.

As we reached them they had shocked looks on their faces.

"GRAY! JUVIA! What happened? There is blood everywhere!" Lucy yelled.

"Nothing." Gray answered.

"S-sorry. I wasn't careful enough. It was my.. mistake."

Lucy saw the wounds on my arm and my leg. "We need to bandage them quickly!"

The village wasn't far away from the mountains. There, we were immediately led to a room with some hospital equipment. Lucy helped me to disinfect my wounds.

"Please don't look so worried! These aren't serious flesh wounds. Fortunately, the attacks only shaved me. You'll make me sad, if you continue to look that way."

"Sorry." Lucy finally smiled a little. "Can you walk?"

"Yeah, I think so."

I was carried all the way, at least I could regain just enough power to walk home by myself. We all said our goodbyes to the villagers. They were quite emotional. _I think you would be too, if you've been hiding for weeks or even months to protect yourself and your family from the monsters and now you can go out and don't live in fear anymore._ They were finally happy and couldn't stop thanking us.

On our way back to the guild I didn't talk so much with Lucy. Mostly she talked with Natsu. She even slapped him once, when he tried to scare us with a rumor about a guy in Magnolia who chases after young girls and attacks them at night.

"But Lucy! You shouldn't be so scared." I tried to calm her down. "Didn't you tell me, that Loki always shows up when he senses that you are in danger and rescues you?" I smirked. She blushed.

"Huh? So he still opens the Gate of the Lion whenever he wants?" Natsu looked annoyed.

"What? You're jealous?" Lucy teased him.

"Hmpf!"

Lucy and I both laughed. By the time we reached guild, it was already getting darker. I said my goodbyes and was about to go home.

"Wait! Don't you want us to see you off?" Lucy asked.

"No! It's okay. Your house is in a different way anyway. You would only make a detour."

"But it's already dark!"

"I'm not afraid of something like that. Also my home isn't that far." I smiled. "See you tomorrow!"

 **Lucy's POV**

And there she goes.

"Gray, go after her!"

"What?! Why?"

"To make sure that she arrives safely."

"She said that she's alright."

"But a girl shouldn't go home by herself at a time like this."

"I don't wanna."

"She's injured!"

"Like I care."

"GRAY!"

"Tch!"

 **Juvia's POV**

 _My whole body aches. I hope that tomorrow it will be fine. Now I just want to go to my bed. I bet that I'll sleep even longer than till 12 a.m.. ^_^' But I don't care!_

*rustle rustle*

I stopped and looked around. _Huh? Is someone there? I swear I just heard something.. Maybe it's just my imagination._ I continued walking round the corner. There I could already see the familiar street lamp in front of my house. Suddenly, I felt someone's grip on my hands. My mouth was also shut down by his other hand.

"If you struggle it will hurt only more~" A male voice whispered into my ear.

 _Is HE the strange guy Natsu told us about? o_o Seriously, I'm not in the mood to play games, you fool!_ =_=

I moved my hands a bit.

"HEY! I said if you- …W-what is.. t-this? W-what a-are you d-doing?"

He was captured with my water magic. "W-wait! I'm sorry! I won't do this ever a-again!" I pinned him down the wall and froze the water.

"I hope you say the truth." I sighed and walked away from him.

 _Jeez! What a douchebag! ... And there's another one._ -_-'

"HEY! Come out! I know that you are there!" I shouted behind me into the dark.

And then he did like I said. He stepped into the light of the street lamp and faced me.

"What? Did you enjoy that show just now as well? Why did you come here?"

"The others wanted me to look after you when you go home."

"Well done. Thanks for _looking after_ me." I said sarcastically.

"Huh?"

I turned my back on him and went right to my doorstep. I searched quickly my bag for my keys. Then I remembered that I had forgotten them. _Gosh! Why NOW?_ ლ(ಥ_ಥ)ლ

"Oi! Could it be that you are mad?"

 _He's kidding me, right?_ ^_^'

"ARE YOU FUCKING SERIOUS, GRAY?!" I took the spare keys under the flowerpot, opened quickly the door and slammed it behind me.

 _Ugh! What a moron!_ T_T


	9. Chapter 9

**Chapter 9**

 **At the guild**

 **Juvia's POV**

The days have passed. I could quickly recover from my injuries. And about the incident with Gray in front of my house.. Well, I told nobody about it. _The whole drama would be_ _just_ _pretty stressful._ ヘ（￣▽￣ ）ヘ Since then, we haven't even talked to each other. Now and then, I could see that he was looking at me. But I just ignored him. _I'm surprised that the others d_ _on_ _'t even notice this. o_o_ _Or maybe they do notice, but don't want to_ _interfere between us. Who knows?_ I decided not to waste my time on abysmally hating him. _I just ignore him! That way, I won't even waste a THOUGHT on_ _that jerk anymore_ _._

I sat with Levy and Lucy on our regular table near the bar. We drank our drinks and had fun talking about the upcoming masquerade ball.

"I can't wait to show you my dress!" Levy said excitedly.

"WHAT? You already bought it?!" Lucy was surprised.

"Yeah! Right after our mission. We got a really high reward and when Jet and Droy found out that I wanted to spend the money on my dress for the guild's Great Masked Ball, they even gave me a bit of their amount, so I could afford it."

"Whoa! I did know that they like you a lot but this is just.."

"Ngh! Of course I couldn't take it! But they insisted and said something like " _For our Levi-chan we would do anything_ _If we can help you_ _to buy a gorgeous dress, it'll be awesome for us too~" "_

She imitated the voices of Jet and Droy.

"Seems like they really want you to have a perfect night." I giggled.

"Bad for them, they don't know that you want to go with Gajeel there~" Lucy teased her and she immediately blushed.

"And what about YOU and NATSU?" She smirked back. Lucy's face promptly turned red. "I heard it from Cana! She eavesdropped on your conversation."

"Whoooa! Lucy, you didn't tell me!" I pouted.

"Ye-Yeah.. It was this morning. I didn't know that someone saw us.." She still blushed.

"I'm happy for you!" I smiled.

"T-Thanks." She answered. "Anyways, what about you? Do you come with Nicco?"

"No, I don't think so. We talked yesterday and he said he won't be here at that time." I sighed.

"What?! HE was finally here and you didn't introduce him to us?" Lucy said with some suprise.

"Well, he came late at night to pick up some clean clothes. This morning he already left home but he left a sweet note behind."

"That's really too bad. But you don't have to come alone."

"Yeah! Lucy is right, you're quite popular here. Every boy would love to have you as his date." Levi smiled.

"Why don't you go with Gray?" Lucy suggested.

 _S_ _eriously?!_ ಠ_ಠ _Of all guys in the guild you choose HIM to go with_ _ME_ _to the ball?!_ (/ﾟДﾟ)/ _I can't think clearly anymore.. I would never ever think of that possibility! I would rather be alone at home and sulking than walking together with him through the door of the guild. =_=_

"No, thanks." I smiled, hoping that she wouldn't notice my anger.

"Why not? You would look good together." Levi said.

 _FOR REAL_ _?!_ ლ(ಠ益ಠლ

"No reason~" Now I tried really hard to fake a smile.

"If you say so.."

"Speaking of Gray!" Lucy started again. "You didn't tell us what really happened on your mission."

"Yeah!" Levy nodded. "How was it even possible that you got injured that badly?"

 _Should I tell them the truth?_

"I thought I could beat him. At the moment when I captured him in my Water Lock and started to freeze the water, he began to attack."

"Oh my Mavis!..And Gray? Wasn't he with you?" Levi asked worried.

 _I don't know whether to tell them or not.. With his actions -or should I say no actions- he hurt me. He just stood there and watched how I was defenseless and struggled on my own. He didn't come to help me. He wanted me to be hurt. He just didn't care and he still doesn't care. I don't know what I've done to deserve such cruelty._

"Juvia?"

"Huh?"

"You're alright? Your eyes got teary." _What?! How? I didn't even realize._

"What happened back then?" Lucy asked anxiously.

Suddenly I saw Gray. He appeared with the other boys and sat down some tables away from us. He looked in our way and then our eyes met. He looked bored as usual. I turned my gaze away and faced Levy and Lucy again.

 _Gosh! They look seriously worried. I don't want them to be sad._ I looked at Gray again. _He is still looking? ..Maybe I shouldn't tell them. It will only cause more sorrow and trouble._

"Well, I wasn't careful enough and then the monster caught me off guard. Everything happened very quickly." I finally said.

"What about Gray? What was he doing?"

 _He did nothing, just standing and watching the show. ._._

"He was otherwise engaged.." I lied. "Anyways, don't look so gloomy! We made it in the end, didn't we? And I'm fine! No need to worry. " I laughed.

They sighed. "..Alright."

"Then come on, let's end this heavy atmosphere and look out for some nice dresses!" Lucy stood up and pulled my arm. "Levy you too! You can advise us!"

"Yosh!"


	10. Chapter 10

**Happy New Year everyone!** **ミヾ(∇≦((ヾ(≧∇≦)〃))≧∇)ノ彡**

 **Chapter 10**

 **Juvia's POV**

Yesterday was a fun day. Lucy, Levy and I went to _Dress Palace,_ Magnolia's famous shop for dresses of all kind, especially for ball dresses. There, we looked for some gorgeous, breath-taking dresses for our Grand Masked Ball which will be held in less than two weeks. In a few days we'll already begin with the preparations and start to decorate the whole guild. Everyone will be helping. That's the reason why we wouldn't have much time to pick out the suitable one for us and for sure we wouldn't have enjoyed this time like we did yesterday.

When we stepped in, I was amazed. I've never seen such a huge amount of dresses in my whole life. They had all colors. It was stunning! Also it didn't take long to find the perfect one. Lucy chose an apricot-colored, like she had told us, and I decided to wear a dark violet one.

Mine was strapless with a high slit on the left side, so you could see my guild mark on my left thigh. Probably the dress exposed too much skin, but I didn't have a problem with that.

 _Maybe I should take a photo and send it to Nicco to tease him a bit_ _be_ _cause he can't attend_ _the event_ _…_ 〜(￣▽￣〜)

Lucy couldn't wait anymore and immediately bought hers. However, I didn't want to buy it that day and asked for a reservation.

Now that we had a few days off, we decided to a take a wellness trip to an onsen. We were two groups. I was in the group with Lucy, Levy and Erza. And the other group consisted of the boys, Natsu, Gajeel and Gray. Although we were staying at the same hotel, we barely saw each other. The hot springs as well as the sleeping place were gender-segregated. It didn't bother us 'cause we girls had a great time. _It was quite relaxing!_

However, we wanted to spend at least the last day together with everyone, so we went to a café for lunch. We sat at a long table, the girls on the one side and the boys, facing us, on the other side.

 _L_ _ife must really REALLY hate me. As luck would have it, Gray is sitting right in front of me._ (╥︣﹏᷅╥᷅)

Everyone was talking to each other except for Gray and I. He just sat there, rested his chin in his right hand and looked bored out of the window. I already finished my salad and didn't know what to do next. The silence between us felt really awkward.

I sighed a little too loud, so everyone looked over to me. _How embarrassing!_

"Juvia? You're feeling okay? Aren't you enjoying this?" Erza asked me.

"N-No no no! Everything is fine!" I waved with my hand, signalizing that I was really all right.

"She's probably just sad that she has nobody to go to the masquerade ball with." Lucy explained to Erza. _Wait.. what?! o_o_

"Oh.."

"Why don't you go with Gray then?" Natsu smirked and patted on Gray's back. "This guy also has no date yet!"

 _Not again. What have I done to deserve this?_ ಥ_ಥ

"And I don't intend to have one!" Gray shouted back and moved away from Natsu.

"Natsu, just leave it be. Juvia already said no, when I suggested the same."

 _LUCY! You didn't need to say that!_ ᗒ_ᗕ

"Huh? For real?"

Gray suddenly looked at me. He still had this natural angry looking face. _How scary!_ I didn't know whether he was pissed or not, but I could tell that he didn't like what he heard. "Hmpf!"

"Ohhh.. Are you disappointed, Gray?" Natsu teased him again.

 _Natsu! Please stop this already!_ T_T

"Should I?" He looked at me again. "I never said I'd like to go with Lockser." He added coldly.

I still gazed at him. _How cruel can you be? To say something like that in such a rude tone when everyone is right here.._

Somehow everyone now sensed the tension between Gray and me. A heavy atmosphere slowly built up as nobody said a word.

"Sorry, I didn't mean to hurt your feelings, Gray." I smiled a bit and tried to loosen the mood.

"Uh-huh. If you could just stop being annoying, that'd be great."

(；￣Д￣） _I give up._ _I don't know what to do anymore. I apologized to you with no reason and you just insult_ _ed_ _me? GO TO HELL!_ (ノಠ益ಠ)ノ彡┻━┻

"O-Okay! L-Let's just go to the guild already, all right? Guys?" Levi sweat dropped.

"Levi is right! The preparations already started. The others might need our help." Erza said

"Then let's head back!" Finally the atmosphere relaxed a bit.

 _Jeez! His whole behavior gets on my nerves._ _Why am I the only one, he treats so badly? I've never been disrespectful to him.._ (╥︣﹏᷅╥᷅) _I don't get him._ _I try all my best to get along with him but he makes it_ _all so difficult_ _. Why is he so mean?_


	11. Chapter 11

**Chapter 11**

 **The next morning at the guild**

 **Juvia's POV**

"Oi Juvia! Could you help us, please?"

"Yeah, I'm coming!" I ran to Erza and Mira. "What can I do?"

Today was the second day of the preparatory week for the upcoming Ball. Although it was very crowded, we still had fun. It was good to see everyone and work together. Only Laxus and the Raijinshu went off for a mission.

"Here!" Mira slid a glass over the table of her bar. "I need you to taste it." I looked down and saw a cocktail glass with yellow content in front of me. It had a sugary rim and was garnished with a blood orange wheel. It looked really tempting. I took a sip through the short light blue straw and could see how its color changed into green.

"Mhh!~ That tastes awesome! It's so fruity."

"Do you taste something else?" Erza asked me with a serious look in her face.

"Huh? No, I don't. Why? Is there someth- Ugh!" I made a sour face. "Why is it suddenly so bitter?"

"Oh! So this time it's bitter.." Mira sighed. "I guess I have to try this again."

"Eh? What are you doing actually?" I asked when the flavor faded away.

"She wants to create a new cocktail until our Ball." Erza explained.

"I want to cover the taste of the alcohol without reducing the amount or its effect. Up to now, the bitter aftertaste is all that I have to deal with." Mira said. "I already asked Erza to help me but it seems that she's still struggling a bit from the previous one."

I looked worrying at Erza. "Yeah, the last one was pretty awful." She laughed.

 _Apparently, she's still okay. But after all it's Erza, we're talking about. Who knows how other would have reacted to the drink she took. Probably we would have died instantly. Now, I'm not so sure if I should keep testing the drinks.. Well, but Mira said that only the aftertaste is left. Maybe I try this. I mean, how bad can it be anyway?_

"Mira, I'll help you!" I smiled.

"Really?! I'm glad." She smiled back.

"Juvia! Come over here! We need your magic." I heard a voice from the other side of the guild.

"Yeah, I'll be right there!" I shouted back.

"Quite busy, aren't you?" Mira giggled.

"Seems so. Well, then, I'm going to help the others. Just call me, when you finish the new drink and I'll come."

"Sure. Just go ahead."

I ran to the guys who called me. They stood around a three-tier fountain, which looked very beautiful. It was about two meters high and had a silver color. _Is_ _it_ _that what Lucy was talking about?_

"What's the matter?" I asked them.

"Well, you see, we carried this fountain all the way from Oshibana and unfortunately something came into the inside and now the pipe is blocked. The water can't go through." One guy explained.

"We hoped that you can do something about it." Another one said.

"Okay. I'll try my best!" _Whatever it i_ _s_ _, maybe I can_ _kick it out with enough water pressure._ I went around the fountain and searched for the hose on the outside. _Ah, there! Found it!_ I placed my hand over the hole and used my magic to let the water in. Slowly I increased the pressure. I could feel how something inside the pipe was moving upwards. And then it came out of the fountain attachment. It was only a stone. But unfortunately, the whole water got out too and splashed on us.

"Gomen! I didn't think about it." I apologized.

"Oh, don't worry! Thanks to you the fountain is working again!" One guy said.

"And a cooling isn't that bad! It's quite refreshing~" They laughed.

 _How nice it is to be helpful. I'm sure that in a couple of days this fountain will look even more amazing. Until now, I haven't been on a masquerade ball or even a normal ball yet. This is my first time, so I'm super excited. Therefore, I want to help as much as possible. Maybe I should go to the girls now and assist them with folding some paper flowers._

I waved to the guys while taking a few steps back. When I turned around I accidentally bumped into something. "Ouch!" I lifted my head and saw a stack full of carton boxes.

"Lockser?! You really like to bump into people.." I heard a voice and then Gray's face appeared behind the boxes.

"Sorry, this wasn't on purpose." I apologized quickly.

"…"

"..black, huh?"

"Black?" I repeated. _I don't understand what_ _he is_ _talking about.._ I looked down and saw that my grey blouse was soaked with water and my black bra was starting to shine through.

"Waaah! W-where are you looking at?!" I felt my cheeks turning red and immediately put my arms in front of my chest.

"Come on, Lockser, move it already!" He commanded.

I noticed the boxes, he was caring. Maybe they were heavy. "Right! Sorry.." I stepped aside so he could go through.

 _That was embarrassing.. But those things happen all the time to me. I should already have g_ _otten_ _used to it a long time ago. Whatever!_ _But I think this was the first time Gray and me spoke normal with each other, even if it were only a couple of sentences._ _I thought that he would be still pissed like yesterday. But that just now was like nothing happened yesterday. It's fine with me. If we c_ _ould_ _go along like just a few seconds ago,_ _that would be pleasant._

 **..**

 **Some days later**

 **…**

It was very early in the morning but the weather was hot as hell. Most girls wore hot pants and a top. Today we had only a few things to do. Since a lot of people helped out, we were almost finished with the whole preparation. Lucy and I decorated the table for the buffet.

"It's too hot!" She sighed loudly. "I hope that tomorrow it won't be that hot as well.. It would be a pity for all the beautiful dresses."

"Yeah! That wouldn't be nice." I giggled.

"Speaking of dresses, don't forget to pick up yours today!"

"I won't forget that!"

"Still, I can't believe how you get your dress only one day before the ball!" Lucy shook her head.

"I had no time the past days. At least I'll buy it!" I laughed.

"What about a date?"

"Naah! I'll go by myself."

"You shouldn't! Seriously, this is a ball. In the beginning there will be an opening dance. You have to find a date and dance with him!"

"Really. It's fine!" _Although I hadn't experience an event like this yet, I just really can't see the meaning behind this dance. The girls make such a fuss about it. We will be dancing all night anyway, so why should this one be so special?_

"Minna! Could you help us with theses boxes, please?" We heard Levy and Lisanna behind us.

"Sure, what can we do?" Lucy answered.

"These here.." Lisanna pointed to the boxes on the table beside her. "..must be carried to the basement."

Lucy and I came closer and looked in the boxes.

"Stones?" I asked surprised.

"Yeah! It was for the decoration. We placed them around the fountain." Levy said.

"It was too much, so these were left over." Lisanna added. "Behind the bar, there is the floor hatch to the basement. It's already opened."

"All right!" Lucy and I nodded.

"I need to go now to Mira-nee and help her with some stuff. Please be careful when entering the basement, the light doesn't work there." Lisanna said and went to where Mira was.

Lucy tried to lift one box. "Wow! They are really heavy! Who carried them anyway?"

"The boys did." Levy giggled. "But most them aren't here yet because it's still so early."

"Great!" Lucy said sarcastically.

"Then it's up to us!" I smiled.

Lucy and Levy took one box together and walked the way to the basement. I looked at one box on the table. _That doesn't look so heavy.. Maybe I can try to carry it by myself. … Uff! It is QUITE heavy! I don't know if I can hold it all the way._ I looked around to see if someone had a bit time. There were only a few people. Either they were welding something or they were busy with moving the tables away, so there would be enough space to dance. _Is there nobody who can help me_ _out_ _some minutes?_ Then I noticed Gray, sitting on a little ladder only a few meters away from me. _I would reluctantly asked him for help, but I think I have no choice._

"Hey Gray..?" I began.

"HUH?" He turned his head and looked really annoyed. _Shoot! Is he in a bad mood?_ "What do you want, Lockser?" He sighed.

"U-um.. Could you help me to carry these boxes to the basement, please? It really doesn't take too long." I asked him in my friendliest way.

"Can't you do that on your own?" He replied with a counter-question.

"Well, err they're really heavy, so.."

"Then why don't you ask someone else?!" He sounded a bit harsh.

"..They are quite busy." _It's not like I haven't thought about this. But they are dealing with some important things.._

"Yeah, well, I'm busy, too." He smirked while he took some sellotape and stuck a poster on the wall.

"Please, Gray! I wouldn't have asked you if I couldn't do that by myself." I begged him.

"…" _Fine! Just ignore me._

"Whatever. Sorry for interrupting you." I turned around and took the box. _Maybe I make it to the basement.._

I took a quick glance at Gray, who looked at me in surprise, before I started to walk with the box in my arms. _Jeez! This is too heavy._ I could feel how my arms began to hurt. _It isn't far away. Only two more meters!_ _There!_ Now I reached the floor hatch and stood before it. I stepped on the first stair, then the second, after that the third. _It's really too dark. I can hardly see the steps. Slowly the box is sliding away._ _I feel how the strength leaves my arms._ _Come on, I'm almost there! My hands are sweaty. If this goes on, I-_

 ***CRRAAAAAAAAAASHHHHHHHHHH***


	12. Chapter 12

**Chapter 12**

 **Gray's POV**

 _Why should I help?! I can't even stand her. With the other mages, she's always so noisy and acts like she has a great time, although she's new and doesn't really know them. But I know that kind of people. They don't really care and only pretend to be friendly so that they can quickly make new friends. And she's one of them. That's merely annoying! Especially when she's near me, I can see how she tries in vain to be nice to me. But I won't get fooled by that kind of play. Sometimes I can see her true face, she looks quite in surprise when I tell her something she didn't expect as a respond to her oh-so-nice question. Can't the others look behind her facade?_

"Please, Gray! I wouldn't have asked you if I couldn't do that by myself."

 _Oh! Now she's begging? I kinda like it. How far will she go? Come on, beg a little more! Maybe I'll help you then 'cause I must admit that those boxes indeed look heavy. Let's see what she's gonna do.._

"Whatever. Sorry for interrupting you."

 _Huh?_ _I_ _s the fun already over? You're giving up_ _so quickly_ _?!_ _Well, that came unexpectedly. I don't know_ _why_ _but s_ _ome_ _how I_ _feel…_ _a.. bit ...disappointed_ _?_ I turned my head to the right, just enough to see her out of the corner of my eye. She took a box and glared at me for a short moment. _Wait! Does she want to_ _carry_ _it on her own?! .._ _Well, it_ _does_ _seem that she can handle it. Then why did you need my help in the first place, Lockser?_ _Never mind! I shouldn't think too much about it. Come on Gray, go back to work. The posters don't stick by_ _themselves_ _!_

 **..**

 ***CRRAAAAAAAAAASHHHHHHHHHH***

 _JEEZ! What was that noise right now?!_ I looked behind me. _Sounds like it came from the bar! There's nothing but an opened floor hatch. Did it come from the basement?! DON'T TELL ME THAT LOCKSER-GIRL JUST NOW-_

"HEEELP!"

 _Eh? Was it Levy's voice? Now Mira and Lisanna are running downstairs. What the hell is going on?_ I walked closer to see what happened. _Damnit! I can only see the first few steps through the floor hatch. The bar lightening doesn't come any further._

Suddenly, Lucy came out hysterically, in a hurry and with her hands covered in blood.

"Oi! Lucy! What the heck happened?" I asked her shocked.

"J-Juvia.. S-She is-.." She looked at her hands in fear. "I-I need some bandages.." She ran to the little room with some medical equipment next to the bar.

Then I saw Mira and Lisanna coming from the basement. Between them they backed up that Lockser-girl by giving her arm support. She walked with a limp. Her knees were pitched and full of blood which was gouting down her legs. Levy came behind them, then quickly took a chair and placed it near Lockser so she could sit down. Now that the light shined down on her, I could see numerous fresh scratches and bruises on her skin. Her face looked also kinda like painful and some sweat drops ran down her forehead. I noticed that she hold onto her left arm the whole time, so I looked a little closer. _Hm? What_ _i_ _s_ _st_ _icking_ _out there_ _?_

"Juvia! Let me see your arm!" Lucy said while running with a first aid bag in her hand.

Lockser loosened her grip and put her hand off from her arm. There, I saw the big wound. A huge splinter of wood was stuck in there.

"That might hurt a bit now.." Lucy warned her before she carefully put the splinter out of her flesh.

"Itai!" Lockser squeaked silently as more blood came out.

"Gomen! I'll bandage now your arm and knees but you should still visit a doctor, okay?" Lucy said while she bandaged the wounds.

"Thanks! But it isn't that necessary. Just bandaging will do it, too. I should just go home.." Lockser faked a smile.

"No! It's serious. If you don't treat them properly, they'll get infected."

"Don't worry, Lucy! I have some medicine at home and can treat it by myself."

"…" Lucy sighed. "You really are stubborn.. Anyways, wait hear a bit and then I walk you home."

"I really don't want to bother you. My house isn't that far.. Also, thanks to your help I'm feeling a bit better." Lockser faked a smile again.

"But-"

"It's all right! It isn't as bad as it looks. Really!" She tried to suppress the pain by pretending to be fine but somehow it didn't look very authentic.

 _Lucy also noticed that foul play for sure.._

"Well, all right. If you say so.." _Did she seriously believe her just now?!_ "But still, please rest a little more before you stand up. In the meantime, I'll search for some crutches. Even if you won't need them, it's better to have at least one just in case, okay?"

"Mhm."

 _Man! This is so annoying. I can't stand this anymore._ I was about to go when Lucy grabbed my arm.

"Wait, Gray!"

"What?!" I turned around.

"Please stay here and keep an eye on Juvia while I'm away."

"W-What? Why should I?" _Yeah, as if I stand here any longer!_

"Come on, the others went back to their work already. It doesn't take long, I'll be right back. Please!"

I sighed. "Fine. But you better hurry!" _Seriously, what have I got myself involved in?_

She nodded and ran away. _Jeeze!_ _What am I doing?_ I looked over to Lockser. Now that Lucy and the others weren't around, her smile faded away. _I knew it! She_ _was just playing to be fine. What does she_ _really_ _want?_

"Oi! Lockser! What do you expect to achieve by that?"

 **Juvia's POV**

 _I want to go home. If I stay here any longer, Lucy, Levy and the others will only be worried. I don't want to be a burden to them. Argh! My head is aching. Did I also hit my head while falling? I remember how I looked down on the box then. And I was so focused on holding it that I missed a step. Then I heard the stones falling down the stairs and I fell with them. I tried to hold onto the wooden beam but apparently it wasn't stable enough and broke instead. The next moment I opened my eyes I realized the real pain._

"Oi! Lockser! What do you expect to achieve by that?" Gray asked me. _Eh? Since when is he here?_

"W-What do you mean?"

"Oh, you don't understand? Then I'll make it a bit clearer for you." He came some steps closer to me. "Earlier you only acted like you were fine. Why?"

"Eh? No, I really.. feel a bit better.." I said avoiding his gaze. _Somehow I feel like I'm pushed into the corner._

"No kidding?!" He began to laugh and ran his fingers through his hair. "Seriously, how stupid do you think I am?" He became louder.

"G-Gray, I don't know what you are talking about.." I looked confused at him. My head started to hurt again.

"You don't know? I can clearly see that you are in pain, but you still hide it from the others! Do you just want to look tough?! That's not gonna work!" He turned his back on me. _Please, speak a bit quieter.. My head.._

"No.. I don't want the others to be worried.." I massaged my temples.

"Well, then you do it wrong! You do this on purpose, don't you? Always searching for trouble and getting hurt, so that the others pity you!" _Don't.. shout.. please. I feel how my temples are throbbing and my forehead is getting hotter and hotter._

"Tell me, why do you pretend to be friendly? YOU DON'T EVEN CARE!" _Why is_ _he_ _shouting at me? Please stop!_ _My body is already trembling._

"What?! You lost your tongue?" _Stop it already! It feels like my head will explode any moment._

"Are you that anxious to make new friends so quickly?" _I can't hear_ _it_ _any longer._ "THAT'S REALLY PATHETIC, EVEN FOR YOU, LOCKSER! Don't you thi-"

"ENOUGH!" I stood up and yelled at him. "Just s-stop shouting a-at me. P-Please." I whispered but I'm sure he heard it.

"Huh? What do you-" He faced me again.

"Why are you so mean? I don't get you! I've never pretended to be nice or anything else.. I really like them! Don't ever say that I don't care about my friends!" *pant* *pant*

"..."

"I'll go home now." _I really shouldn't be any longer near him._

"Tch! Do what you want!" He hissed.


	13. Chapter 13

**Chapter 13**

 **Gray's POV**

 _Huh? Was that only my imagination or were there really tears in her eyes? Tch. I've never seen her like that before.._

"I'll go home now." _What?! You're mad now? I don't get her._

"Tch! Do what you want!" Like I said, she slowly hobbled to the door of the guild, opened it and left. _Yeah, of course you are fine! Walking with a limp, you call this "feeling better"? I mean, who are you kidding, Lockser?_

"Umm Gray~?"

I turned around and saw Lucy behind me. She looked kinda angry.

"Say, where's Juvia?" She smiled at me creepily.

"Lockser went home." I said, ignoring her look.

"SHE WHAT?!" Lucy shouted at me. "AND YOU DIDN'T STOP HER?"

"Why should I? She shall do as she pleases."

She sighed. "..Correct me if I'm wrong, but could it be, that you two don't get along very well?"

"Huh? What makes you say that?" _I mean, sure I don't like her but it's not like I hate her abysmally. Rather than ignoring, we avoid each others way. I think, you could say that we get along that way, right?_

"You know.. back then, I asked Juvia why she didn't just ask someone to help her. She didn't say anything, she only looked to the ground and kept quiet." _Huh?_ "Gray, did she ask for your help?"

"..."

"So she did ask you! Then why didn't you help?"

"I.." _I thought that she could handle it.._ "It seemed that she could do it on her own."

"Argh! Gray! How can you be so stupid?! She's just a girl!" She shouted again.

"O-Oi! Calm down!" _Jeez! That's all so annoying._

"And tomorrow is the Grand Masked Ball! Argh! Those wounds will never heal so fast.." She whimpered. "I swear, if nobody asks her to dance because of that or even worse, if she doesn't attend the ball, we'll never forgive you!"

"Ehh? It's just a ball! Don't make a big fuss about it.." I sweat dropped.

"I can't believe you just said that." She shook her head. "It's a special event for EVERY GIRL! So now go after her!"

"W-What? Why me?"

"Well, since you let her getting hurt, you should at least accompany her on her way home. You should have kept an eye on her as long as I was away. She has fever and shouldn't walk alone. If anything happens, you will be the one to blame for!" She sounded serious. "Now go!"

 _I hate it when someone is bossing me around. But I think she won't be quiet until I leave.._

"Tch." I hissed before I left the guild. _Seriously, that Lockser-girl brings nothing but trouble.._

 **At Juvia's house**

 **Juvia's POV**

*pant* *pant* _I made it to my home. Puh! It was harder than I thought._ _Because of the whole moving my wounds_ _opened again, the bandages are already soaked with blood. I should change the dressing soon. But first I need to change my clothes. They are_ _all messed up and tattered. I can't believe I walked like this through the city. At least, it's still morning so that there aren't so many people._ I went upstairs, took a big white thigh-high t-shirt, from my closet and put it on. Then I walked downstairs again and prepared a bowl with warm water, towels, disinfectants and some new bandages on the little table before my sofa. Before I started the procedure, I drank some medicine against my headache. _I hope it's rapid-acting 'cause my head is killing me.._ _Okay, let's begin now!_

I carefully took off the tape and was now removing the bandage when I heard something.

 ***** **knock** *** *** **knock** *****

 _Huh? The door? Who would come here? I don't remember to have invited someone.._

 ***** **knock** *** *** **knock** *****

I stood up and walked to the door to open it. _Just a minute!_ I stretched out my arm to the doorknob-

"Oi, Lockser!"

"Eh? Gray?!" I mumbled to myself. My hand twitched for a moment and I slowly backed some steps away.

"Lockser! Come on, open up already!" _W-What d-does he want here?_

"Go away! I don't want to see you!" I said.

"Tch!"

..

 _Huh? Did he go away?_

 ***** **tinkle** *** *** **tinkle** *****

 _What?! The door lock?! Is he opening my door? How?!_ Suddenly the doorknob was pushed down and the door opened. I could see that my spare keys stuck in the door lock.

"You should find a new secret hideaway for your keys." He smirked.

"H-How did you know anyway?" I asked him surprised.

"Oh, have you already forgotten the last time we talked near your house?" He said while stepping in.

 _Hm? The last..time? Oh, wait! Is he talking about the time after we came back from the mission, where we fought against the Fire Yeti Siblings? Yeah, now I remember. That brings back memories. Mostly bad memories. Back then, I also got hurt.. And on my way home there was a stranger who dared to attack me. Gray didn't help me, he never did. So what does he want now?_

"..." I took a few steps back to increase the distance between us. He looked around. His glance wandered to the table, where all the medical stuff lay down and then to me. He widened his eyes a bit and stared at my arm. I followed his look and noticed that the blood from the wound, where I removed the bandage, slowly flowed down. As a reflex I covered it with my other hand. Suddenly, Gray came closer.

"H-Hey! W-What do you want?" I stuttered and shivered slightly.

"It need to be treated, right?" He pointed at my wound.

"Huh?" _Why..?_ He went to the little table and sat down on the sofa. Then he took the towel and plunged it into the bowl with the water.

"Lockser, you're gonna stay there forever?"

"Ugh.. Right.." I walked over to him and sat down beside him. He grabbed my wrist and started to wash the blood away. _To be honest, somehow it feels strange. In front of me, there's the guy who screamed at me just a while ago. He was so terrifying that I was a bit scared and now he disinfects my wound and wraps the bandage around my arm. He also seems to be very concentrated. It's confusing. My hand is still shaking a bit since he grabbed my wrist. I hope he doesn't notice this._ _I wonder why he do this.. Why all of a sudden?_ _He doesn't even care about me, so why?_

"Why?" I whispered to myself unconsciously.

"Don't get me wrong, Lucy told me to look after you." He said bluntly.

 _Yeah.. How could it be otherwise? He wouldn't help by himself, right? But it's the first time that he's a little bit kind. It feels really strange.._

"Still, t-thanks!" I smiled softly.

"..." He was a bit surprised. "Anyways, I'm done. I'm going now."

"Mhm.." Was all that I could respond.

He went through the door and I could hear how he put my spare keys back under the flowerpot again. _I really need to find a new place for them.. Uff! ..And tomorrow is the ball! What should I do? I can't buy the dress anymore. Everything will be exposed.. Should I really go?_


	14. Chapter 14

**Chapter 14**

 **Juvia's POV**

It was only 12 a.m. and I was already tired. Although I took a nap the last few hours I somehow still felt exhausted and couldn't fall asleep anymore. I was lying on my sofa in the living room and rested my arm on my eyes. At least my head didn't hurt so much like earlier anymore.

 _Jeez! What should I do about tomorrow? I really wanted to attend the ball. This should have been my first time._ _We were all looking forward to it and I remember how much fun we had to decorate the guild and to hang out together during this time. Levy and Lucy were pretty excited, whether the boys would ask them out for a date. In the_ _e_ _nd, they succeeded_ _and I'm really happy for them, 'cause it seemed like they had a soft spot for them for quite a while. Even Erza made it. Although nobody knows who her mysterious acquaintance is_ _and she's willing to keep it a secret_ _._ _But she looked truly happy. Therefore, I don't think that it's a bad person. Well, there was one time when Natsu joked about her date must be longing for death if he wanted to go out with Erza. But the moment he said that, he was thrown to the other end of the guild._ _The other boys who sat around him promptly became silent,_ _probably because of the terrifying aura which came from Erza who_ _stood_ _behind_ _them_ _. It was really scary. But it wasn't that unlikely that Erza got a date. Well, yeah, she might be the strongest_ _mage_ _a_ _mong every other guild_ _and most guys would be afraid of her overwhelming power but she's a really pretty_ _and sweet_ _girl and sometimes she is more girly than every other girl could ever be._

 _Now that I think about it we really had a great time these past weeks. It would be a waste if I couldn't see the result of our hard work together with everyone. But even if I go, I don't have enough time or even nerves to look for a new dress. Crap!_

I removed my arm from my face and opened my eyes. I looked at the ceiling and let various thoughts go through my head. Then, something came up to my mind. _I don't think that it will work out good but at least it's better than nothing._ I leaned forward to stand up and then I felt the pain, going like a flash through my body, which I've almost forgotten. _Ugh.. It's gonna be a tough day!_ Slowly I walked upstairs to my room. _I think it should be somewhere under my bed. Of course. Where else would it be but there? After all it's something I've never_ _made use of_ _._

I took out a big light gray box where a white ribbon was attached in one corner. It was covered with a lot of dust. No wonder, I opened it only once and since then, it stayed untouched with my other stuff which I've never used again under my bed. _I think this one was a present from my aunt but I can't remember the occasion. It was long ago. The first time, I couldn't use it properly. Hopefully, this time it will turn out fine._

I opened the box and took out the big baby-blue fabric. It was quite a lot cloth for such a small box. As I unfolded it, it became bigger and bigger. So I put it on the ground and looked all over it. _Maybe it_ _will_ _work._ In front of me there was a beautiful dress with long transparent sleeves, two layers and a white rose on the right side at waist level. _I think by looking at the length it would fit me this time. Back then, it was too long. That can only mean, that I finally grew a bit. Yesss! But I still need to add some more Details. My previous dress had a high slit on the left side. But_ _it wouldn't suit this one. M_ _aybe I can make something_ _else_ _eye-catching.._

…

(almost evening)

…

"Haah!" I yawned. _Okay, now I'm really sleepy._ I pushed the sewing kit aside and looked up at my finished work. "Yeah, this should be working." I smiled. I was always good at such things. My mom taught me this when I was little. Back then, I always made _teru teru bozu_ dolls in an attempt to make it stop raining, but the other children teased me even more. Well.. Who would have thought that I went from making _teru teru bozu_ to my own ball dress. _It makes me_ _even more proud._

"Haaaah!" I yawned again. "Okay, it's time to sleep." _This chaos can wait till tomorrow,_ I thought and went to bed.

 **The next morning**

It was a beautiful day. The sun shined in my room and I could see the mess from yesterday which I didn't mind. 'Cause today is a special day and nothing will ruin my good mood. Nonetheless I woke up at 12 a.m.. _Again._ _Well that will never change,_ I sweat dropped.

First of all, I cleaned the mess in my room so I could finally see the ground. _Uff!_ _It didn't look that much yesterday. Maybe it was just too dark. Whatever, as long as everything went fine I don't need to worry._

Before I made breakfast I went to the bathroom for a long shower. And then again, I felt lot of pain as the hot water ran over my wounds. "Itai!" _Damn, they start bleeding again!_ But I bore with it. At least my muscles could relax a bit. When I stepped out, I saw myself in the mirror. My legs and arms were covered with bruises and scratches and my knees as well as my left upper arm are bleeding. Now that I put my hair back, I can even see a scratch on the right side of my forehead.

"I really do look like a fool.." I smiled sadly. I put my clothes on and wrapped my wounds with new bandages.

During my breakfast at 2 p.m. I thought about the upcoming event. _This will be a lot of fun. I can't wait to spend a wonderful time with my friends. It's really exciting! I'm curious who Erza's date is. It would be nice if Nicco was there too. I didn't see him in quite a while._ _Maybe someone will take photos and then I would show it to him. Then I could_ _keep these memories forever~_

…

(a few hours later)

…

 _It's only an hour until the beginning of the event. Maybe I should get dressed up._ I was sitting in my room and still tried to do a cute hairstyle. _Ugh! It's harder than I thought it would be.._ Curling my hair didn't work out well, instead I had big loose waves, which didn't look that bad actually. At least I tried my best! Then I put on my dress and looked one last time in the mirror for a final check. I smiled satisfied and then put my mask on.

"Yosh! Let the Grand Masked Ball begin!"


	15. Chapter 15

**Chapter 15**

 **At the guild**

 **Juvia's POV**

"Alright!" I was standing outside the door of the guild and was pausing for a moment. _Here I am!_ I took a last deep breath and slowly opened the big wooden doors. The first thing that caught my attention was the enormous chandelier in the middle of the hall ceiling, that shined so bright that I closed my eyes for a second. It was really beautiful though. Then my gaze wandered from the one side to the other, as I walked a few steps further.

The walls were decorated with a mix of golden flower garlands, fairy lights and on several pillars, there were even candle wall lights which had the same golden color. On the right, there was the long buffet table with finger food of all sorts as well as a big bowl of red punch. Between the dishes, our little handmade paper flowers were set. It looked really cute. Not only that but just everything looked so freaking amazing. No matter where you looked, everything sparkled. In the corners near the door were some round tables so you could sit down and eat or drink. There were already some people who chatted with each other. Unfortunately, I couldn't recognize them because of the masks.

 _Ugh! I hope I find the others. It's quite crowded and a bit difficult to see the person behind the mask. Thank Mavis, I know how their dresses look! Perhaps I can find them this way._ "Let's see."

I made my way to the middle of the hall, where most people stood and was about to pass them and look for my friends. Somehow all eyes focused on me as I walked further. From the corner of my eye I saw how a few even turned their heads around and whispered something.

"Hey, look at her~" "Isn't that-" "Yeah~" "Wow!~" "She's soo-"

 _Ahhh, there!_ I caught a glimpse of an apricot-colored dress. _That must be Lucy._ I headed over to the person with that dress, not minding the people around me and immediately recognized Lucy's blonde hair.

"Lucy!~" I softly tapped on her shoulder and smiled when she turned around.

"JUVIA?! You're here!" She removed her mask and looked at me from head to toe. "Oh my! You really look beautiful! I'm so glad that you came. Really." She wrapped her arms around my neck and hugged me carefully. "How are you feeling?"

"Umm.. My fever is gone." I smiled.

"And the other injuries?"

"Err.. well..umm…-"

"Juvia? Is that you?" I heard Levy behind me.

"Ah! Levy. Hi!"

"Wow! You look so stunning and that dress is just amazing. Especially your open back. You sure noticed the lewd glances of the boys." She smirked at the last part.

"T-Thanks." I blushed. _Honestly, I didn't know that it would be that eye-catching. I mean there are also other girls with fantastic and a bit revealing dresses. But it seems like I am the only one with an open back dress. Well, it isn't that bad. Hehe.._

"By the way, where did you get that dress from? It suits you really well. I mean, you don't even see any effects from yesterday." Lucy asked curiously.

"Yeah, well this is the only long sleeved dress I have. Though it's transparent as you can see. I had to add some non-transparent fabric on each side where my upper arms are, so that the bandages won't be seen. Therefore, I cut out the back of the dress and used it for the sleeves."

"Wow! That's actually pretty smart!"

"Mhm." Levy agreed.

"How about we say 'Hi' to the others?" Lucy suggested.

"Yeah! That's a good idea. If we can find them.." I said.

"I think Natsu and Gajeel are, where the food is." Levy joked.

"Yeah, that might even be true.." Lucy sweat dropped.

We walked to the buffet and indeed saw the boys. Erza was there too and was eating a strawberry cake. _She really looks happy when she can eat her precious cake._ But I couldn't find her date anywhere.

"AH! Hi guys! How are you? Do you want some cake? It's delicious!~" She said as she took another bit.

"Err.. No thank you! You look really cute!" I giggled.

"T-Thanks. You as well." She blushed a bit.

"Thanks." I smiled back.

"Anyways guys! In a few minutes the opening dance will start, so get prepared!" Erza ordered us.

"Aye!" She girls cheered. I felt a bit uneasy about it. I mean, I was really looking forward to dance with everyone together but this kind of dance.. well I'm not really into it.

Suddenly Natsu put his plate with food aside and cleared his voice before he shouted "OI, ICE PICKLE! You're really late, you know?" We looked in the same direction where Natsu was looking and saw Gray in a black tuxedo with a dark blue tie, which was a bit loose around his neck. Unlike Natsu and Gajeel he didn't care about a mask.

"Yo!" He said as he came closer to us.

"What took you so long?" Gajeel asked.

"I overslept."

"Seriously? It's almost 6 p.m.. Didn't get much sleep at night, eh?" Gajeel smirked and patted his shoulder.

"Ah. Shut up!" Gray removed Gajeel's hand.

"I'm glad you made it in time _Gray_ ~" Erza gave him a creepy smile and made clear that he shouldn't do any others stupid mistakes this evening or else- Well I think everyone noticed what will happen next time.. Gray immediately shrugged.

 _Erza can be pretty scary sometimes.. It's obvious that she wants this ball to be perfect. Now I really wonder, who her date is.._

 **A/N: Sry for the long wait. I'll try to update the next one a bit faster. It'll be a long chapter too. So stay tuned! And thanks for all the reviews so far. :)**


	16. Chapter 16

**Chapter 16**

 **Juvia's POV**

"So Gray, who's your lovely date tonight?" Levy asked him while looking for his companion.

"No one. I came alone." He said straight away.

"Ah.. Is that so.. Then you quickly have to find someone for the opening dance!"

"Never in my life would I attend to such a dumb d-" Before he could finish his sentence he was interrupted by Erza who was surrounded by a very evil aura.

"I'm sorry, I didn't get that. What were you going to say, _Gray~_?" She showed him her creepy smile again that even us gave the chills.

"Umm.. N-Nothing."

"Good. Then see you on the dance floor in a bit!" She said as she went off.

"Eh? Where is she going?" Gajeel asked.

"Probably to look for her mysterious acquaintance." Levy giggled. "I wonder who it is.."

"Well, we will see in a moment."

 _ *****_ _ **Splashhhhhh**_ _ *****_

 _ _What's that? Burbling of water?__

"Hey Lucy, you hear that?" I whispered to Lucy who stood beside me.

"Hm? ...Ah yeah, I think they finally turned on the water fountain."

"Really? I have to see it! I'll be right back, okay?" My eyes sparkled. _I can't wait to_ _see_ _it._

"Sure, just go and enjoy it!" She giggled.

I left the group silently and headed to where the sound of water came from. A few meters away, I found what I was looking for. The three-tier fountain. I moved my mask to the left side so I could fully enjoy the sight. It looked quite amazing. The guys did a very good job! They washed away the dust and the dirt and polished it until the silver color was now shining even more. The inside wall was lighted with some little lamps which displayed all shades of blue. That way the color of the water changed as well. But that was not all. In the water were some sakura flowers. __Yeah, that really looks beautiful.__ I'm glad that I could see it.

"Isn't that __Juvia-chan~__?" I heard someone further away behind me. "Yes! It's her~!" _"_ _ _Juvia-chan~__ _"_

I turned around and saw a couple of guys coming up my way _._ _ _Oh my.. It's them again!__ _ _My so-called fan club...__

 _"_ _ _Juvia-chan~__ Good evening! You look so gorgeous today!" "Yeah, really beautiful!"

"T-thanks guys. You look great too."

"Uwah! Did you hear that! She complimented us. This is the best day in my life! Ahhh _Juvia-chan~_!" One guy said.

"Oi, put yourself together! What are you? A kid in puberty?!" His friend to the left gave him a dig with his elbow.

"..." I sweat dropped.

"Anyways, __Juvia-chan__ , we looked for you the whole time! Would you do us the honor to dance with us in the opening dance?" Another one said while holding my hand.

"Please, __Juvia-chan~__!" "Say yes! ..P-please." The others supported him.

"Err… Y-you mean with all of you at once?" I smiled nervously.

"Huh?" They looked straight at each other.

.

..

…

"WHAT?!" They said in unison. "No, __Juvia-chan__ will dance with me!" "What are you saying, she'll choose me!" "Are you an idiot? You can't even dance! I took extra dancing lessons for this evening. She will dance with me." "No, I'll be the one who will dance with __Juvia-chan~__!" "I got an idea! __Juvia-chan__ decides who the lucky one will be!" Suddenly all of them looked at me with serious and concentrated faces.

"Umm.. Listen, guys. How should I say that.. Err.. I am very pleased that you asked me. But the thing is.. Umm.. Actually, I d-didn't intend to dance in the opening dance in the first place. S-sorry."

"Huh?" Their faces went blank.

"She must be kidding, right?"

"Yeah that's probably only a joke. Hehe."

"I mean, this is a special dance for every girl. There is no way, she wouldn't want to participate, right?"

"Yes! Maybe she just doesn't know who to pick.. Then I'll show her that she should choose me! Yeah, I'll buy her a drink, then she'll definitely say yes!"

"No way, I'll do that!"

"Hey, guys! I'm serious. I really won't-" I tried to make myself clear but was interrupted.

"Don't worry! Just wait here. I'll be right back." "Yeah, __Juvia-chan~__ , I'll come again in a moment."

"W-what?…Hold on! W-wait a sec.." __Jeez! They already went off.__ _ _This ain't good. They are nice guys but at moments like these it's quite annoying..__

 ***sigh***

 _ _Eh? Right now, it wasn't only me who sighed a bit too loud.__ _I looked beside me and saw Gray standing with his hands in his pockets._

"You too don't have it easy, huh?" He said suddenly, facing the fountain.

"Eh? Are you talking to me?" I wanted to be sure since he never started a conversation with me just like that.

"Are you stupid? You see someone else here?"

Now that he mentioned it, we were indeed the only people near the fountain.

"Ugh.. _" I didn't know what to say and looked at the ground._

"Shouldn't you already be on the dance floor or something?" He said in his usual bored tone.

"Hehe.. Yeah, actually no. I'm not really into this kind of dance."

"Hm?" He glanced at me for a moment without moving his head.

"I mean it's just a dance, right? I'd like to dance with everyone together but this.. Well, it's just nothing so special to me. Honestly, I don't even understand why the others.."

"..make such a big fuss about it?" He ended what I wanted to say.

"Yeah, exactly." I looked at him, still surprised about what he said.

"I don't get them either." He added.

 _ _Wow! I didn't know he would ever have the same opinion like me.__ _ _This is the first time.__ _ _Who would have thought__ _ _it?__

Suddenly, the lights were dimmed and some little round paper lanterns covered the ceiling. It created a quite romantic atmosphere. Then a violin play started and other instruments followed. I looked to the stage in front of the fountain and saw a band playing a beautiful slow song. People who were on the dance floor a moment ago, left and in exchange some couples entered it. It seemed that the opening dance was about to start.

"What about you? Why are you here?" I asked Gray.

"To escape from Erza." __Oh right! She__ _ _was quite frightening towards him earlier..__

I glanced through the people and caught her gaze in our direction. She was like 10 meters away from us.

"Oh my.. Speaking of the devil.." I said pointing at her.

"Whaaat?!" Gray turned around. "Shit!" Erza gave him a serious death glare. No kidding! Unconsciously, I put on my mask correctly again and was about to go away from this awkward situation.

"OI WAIT!" I felt someone grip my wrist all of a sudden.

"Huh?"

"Dance with me for a moment, Lockser!"

"Whaaat? W-wait I-.." I couldn't finish my sentence as Gray already dragged me to the dance floor.

"I-I don't wa-.."

"Erza will kill me if I don't do this! So just bear with it." He said.

"But I-.." Not listening to me, he reached out his left hand and stared right at my eyes.

 _ _Damn! What am I doing? I should just go away.. But__ _ _he won't let me. Really, I hate it…__ _*sigh*_

I hesitated at first but then took his hand and placed my left hand on his right shoulder. Next I felt his other hand on my bare back. Then he closed the distance a little by pushing me to himself. I think I was never this close to him. It was strange for me.

"EH? What's that?" Gray said and moved his hand on my back up and down which made me shiver a bit since his hand felt really cold.

"Umm.. That's a backless dress.." I sweat dropped.

"O-Oh.. O-okay.. ugh.." He stuttered. __Hm?__ I looked up to him and saw him avoiding my gaze. __Well, whatever..__

We started dancing and so did the others. I saw Erza and her date who was dressed all black but with a white mask. He had blue hair. I think I saw him somewhere else before but I couldn't remember. Erza was like a different person, unlike the scary demon a bit ago. She smiled and it seemed like she really enjoyed his company. I was truly happy for her. Natsu and Lucy as well as Gajeel and Levy were there too and they also looked really happy.

We danced now for several minutes and I didn't know for how long this dance will go on. I felt how my right arm slowly was tired and that its power faded away. I tried to hold on but not any longer I let go and just rested my arm on Gray's shoulder. It was like I embraced him around his neck but I didn't really care.

"Oi, what are you doing, Lockser?" He asked surprised.

"Just a bit. My arm is just really tired."

"Oh." He placed then his free hand on my waist. "Besides, um.. how are your injuries?"

"..." __Why is he asking? Like he cares about it. I don't know what to answer.__

*sigh* "Listen, what happened yesterday, I-"

"It's fine. I shouldn't have done this on my own. I was just clumsy like always. Okay?" I sweat dropped. __Honestly, I don't want to speak about it. It was my fault after all, right? I should just__ _ _drop this subject and never think about it again. Just forget that this happened and don't remember how he yelled and__ _ _everything__ _ _..__

"But I-"

"I said it was fine, didn't I?" I looked away.

"Tch, idiot." He hissed softly. __Well, at least he stopped talking about it.__

The dance was over only a minute later. During this time we didn't speak with each other. But I noticed something strange when I was accidentally pushed towards him. His scent. It was the same as Nicco's. Somehow it was very pleasant. It was like he was there and I really enjoyed it. In this short moment Gray didn't seem hostile to me but rather familiar and actually nice.


	17. Chapter 17

**Chapter 17**

 **Gray's POV**

 _Ugh.. The dance is finally over. I'm just glad that I am still alive. Next time I'll make sure to be careful when Erza is around. One more wrong move and I won't see the day of tomorrow._

"Uff.. And in the end I've actually done so.." Lockser sighed but I didn't really get what she said.

"What?" I glanced at her.

"Hm? Oh nothing. I was just talking to myself." She sweat dropped.

"Whatever. I'll get me a drink." I said and headed to the table where the punch was.

I took the ladle and put the red liquid into my glass. It smelled like a mix of different berries.

"Hey Gray~!" I heard a voice.

"Hm?" I lifted my head to see Mira in front of me on the other side of the table. "Oh, it's you. What's up?"

"I saw you on the dance floor." She giggled. _Ugh.._ _please_ _not this conversation now…_

"With a _girl~_!" Her smile widened even more. _If this goes on, she won't be able to be stopped._

"So what?" I said annoyed.

"You looked really good together." _And there she is. Mira the matchmaker.._ "I mean look at these." She handed me a bunch of photos.

"Huh?" I looked through them. _Ugh.. When did she.._

"This year, I'm taking _lots_ of photos of this event since most of the girls finally got their one true partner." I could see how her eyes formed into a heart shape. "You know, in most of these pictures you seem a bit bored and all. But.."

 _Yeah well, I was indeed bored. How would you feel when your life depends on such a dumb thing. As I can see, Lockser didn't look happy either. We didn't even look at each other. She didn't want to participate in the first place. I somehow dragged her into this, but she was she only girl around anyways, so I didn't have much choice.._

"..the last picture. It's my favorite~"

 _Huh? The last?_ I reached the end of the photos and saw the final one. I think it was just before the end of the dance. Lockser was wrapping her arms around my neck and was suddenly pushed against me. The photo caught this moment. _Huh? Is she smiling a bit? Why should-_

"You were blushing a little, weren't you!" Mira giggled.

"W-what? Why should have I blushed?"

"There! You are definitely blushing in this picture!" She pointed at the photo.

"You're talking nonsense. This was just the light."

"Well, if you say so~ So who is the beauty? Tell me! If she only had not the mask.." She asked impatiently.

"Nobody." I said annoyed and gave her she photos back, so I could take my drink and leave.

 _Seriously, there's no way I would blush. Mira isn't herself when it comes to such events. Girls are so annoying._

" _Juvia-chan~_ We're here." "Yeah, it took us some time and then we couldn't find you." "How about you dance with us now, _Juvia-chan~_?"

 _Yeah and these guys are just as annoying as them. Why doesn't she already send them off? It's obvious that she feels uneasy around them._

"Maybe later, okay? I just wanted to go to the restr-"

"Ahh, come on _Juvia-chan~_ " "Just one dance, please!" They begged her.

 _Seriously, just say already no if you don't wanna!_

"R-really I-I.."

"It won't take long." "Yeah, we'll be having lot of fun _Juvia-chan~_ " One of them grabbed her upper arm and another pushed her slightly from behind.

"Ekk!" Lockser shrugged a bit.

"Huh?" They looked worried at her. "What is it? Are you hurt somewhere?"

"W-what? Nahhh, I'm fine guys." She faked a smile. _Why doesn't she just tell them the truth? Is she stupid?_

"I just wanted to-"

"Okay, then let's go!" The one who hold her arm was about to drag her further.

"But I-I-"

 _Geez! How persistent! This is too annoying!_

"Oi! You guys! Are your brains as hollow as peanuts or can't you read the atmosphere here? Don't you see that she doesn't want to dance with you? Why don't you just clear off and stop being so annoying? You disturb the peace here." I interfered between them.

"Ughh.. It's him again.." "Crap! Let's get lost for the moment." " _Juvia-chan~_ we'll come again l-later.. m-maybe.. o-okay?" They waved at her before they went off.

"You didn't have to say such a thing, you know.." Lockser said.

"What? Are you pissed now? It was unbearable." I got a bit angry. "Well, unlike you who just stood there, I did at least something."

"You really don't understand. Forget it.." She turned around and walked to the restroom a few meters further. I noticed that she held onto her arm. _Wait, was it because of the douchebag who grabbed her just now?_

 **Juvia's POV**

 _Really! How could he say something like that in such a rude tone? He really doesn't get that his actions sometimes scare people. Especially his words.. Well, it's true that the guys were a bit too noisy but even so, you shouldn't say awful things that might hurt people.. I remember very well the time back then, when people told me the exact words. "Get lost, rain woman!" "You're annoying!" "Just disappear. You're disturbing the good mood with your rain." It wasn't nice…_

I opened the door to the restroom, went in and closed behind me. There wasn't much furniture. In the middle, there was just a simple bed with a white curtain like the ones in a hospital and on the left and right were some shelves with lots of medical equipment. It was simple provided like a restroom normally is.

I had to change the bandages quickly. The last time I did that was this morning or was it midday? Whatever. Just a moment ago, when the guy grabbed my arm, it really hurt, I felt how the wound opened again. I took some new bandages as well as a towel and placed them on the shelf on the left side 'cause right beside it, there was also a little sink, where I could clean my arm.

Now that everything was prepared I could carefully undress my left sleeve. I hurried so that the cloth didn't get soaked with blood. _Otherwise, it would be troublesome to get rid of it, once it dried… *sigh*_ The moment my arm was exposed, the door opened and someone came it.

"Lockser! You're really annoying.." I heard someone shouting. _Ugh.. It's Gray.._ "What did you mean by-"

"So what? Should I just clear off too in order not to bother you anymore?!" I interrupted him with a sarcastic overtone.

He just stared at me until I broke the gaze and struggled with my bandages again.

"Huh?!... I-I didn't mean to... N-no.." He mumbled the last part, so that I couldn't hear it clearly. After some seconds of silence I heard him hissing "Tch!" and then some footsteps came closer to me.

"Hold on! I got this." _Eh? What?! ..He's doing this again. Why? This is not like him._ _Yesterday too. Even if Lucy told him to look after me, he didn't have to do so.. Could it be that he_ _feels a little bit guilty_ _.. -No way! What am I thinking.. Hahaha.._ _Just get already rid of that thought!_

"Gray, I can do this myself.."

"Don't be stupid!"

"Hey, you don't have to do this, you know.. Really, what's up with you? First you tell me that I annoy you and should just go away and then you help me. This is unlike your usual self. It seems like you… care.. a bit." I joked around. "But seriously, you can't even stand me, so this can't be the case.." I laughed. "Right?" I faced him again and was a bit astonished.

Somehow Gray didn't find it funny. It was quite the opposite, he looked so seriouss and didn't even say anything. He just focused on treating my wound. _Didn't he listen to what I just said?_

"I didn't know that you couldn't handle it." He said suddenly.

"Hm?" _What is he talking about?_

"The box..*sigh*... Never mind. Forget it!" _Huh?_

Next he signaled me to give him the new bandage. "Ah, sure.." I bent over to the shelf next to the sink and reached out my hand to grab it. I think thereby my dress slipped a bit.

"Here!" I held out the bandage to him. No reaction. _Ugh.. What is he doing there? =_=_

"Umm.. Gray.. Would you stop staring, please?"

"W-What?! I wasn't staring!" He immediately took the bandage out of my hand and wrapped it around my arm. When he finished, I dressed again my sleeve and checked in the mirror above the sink if everything was in the right place.

 **Gray's POV**

 _I wasn't staring..I wasn't staring..I wasn't staring..I wasn't staring..OKAY! I WAS STARING! But they are HUGE. Everybody would have peeked a little. It's impossible to overlook them… Ugh! What am I thinking? It's Lockser. There's nothing special about her._

"Umm.. T-Thanks Gray!" She turned around and a smile appeared on her face. _Somehow with this dress and that smile just now, she looks reall- ..Stop! What was I going to think right now?! Fuck._

"Hm? Is everything alright?"

"W-what? Why shouldn't I be alright? Let's go back. The others must be already looking for us.."

"S-sure."


	18. Chapter 18

**Chapter 18**

 **Juvia's POV**

"Hey Juvia!" Did you see Gray somewhere?" Lucy asked me.

"Huh? Yeah..why? He should be right behind me." I turned around. _Eh? He's not there!? But we just came out from the restroom. How could he disappear?_

"Everything's alright, Juvia?"

"Y-yeah. I hope so.."

"Never mind. Maybe he'll come later."

"Mhm." I nodded.

"For now, let's enjoy the night. The others surely are waiting."

We went to a table where our friends were chatting and having fun together. They told embarrassing stories and laughed at them. Especially Natsu's story was quite funny.

He told us how he and Lucy wanted to make something special for Erza as her birthday gift. They thought of a cake and went through hell to get all ingredients that were required for the ultimate strawberry cake, Erza's favorite kind.

Everything went well. At first sight. The next day, they gave her the present. Little did they know, Happy wanted to do something special too, so he secretly mixed a big amount of his precious stinky fish into the dough. Even after the baking process nobody seemed to notice it, so they continued to decorate the cake. It looked really delicious and Erza was also very thankful.

With the words "This is how we truly think about you~!" Lucy and Natsu handed her the special gift. Well, after eating a piece, Erza turned into a demon and went on a rampage.

"Ah, speaking of Erza, where is she?" I asked Lucy.

"Dunno."

 _Something is weird. Erza.. it was something about her.. Ahh! I can't remember._

"Pssst! _Juvia Lockser?_ " I heard someone whispering behind me. When I turned around, I saw a guy standing there. He was dressed all black, his hair, his gloves, even his mask, which covered his whole face.

"Yes? Wait. W-Who are you?"

" _That isn't important. I was told to give you this._ "

"Huh?" He handed me a little white card. I turned it around to look for the sender but there was no name on it. "Hey, from who is this?" I lifted my head to face the suspicious man. _Huh? Where did he go?_

"Are you sure, that everything is alright, Juvia?" Lucy asked me again.

"A-Ah. Y-Yes…? Say, did you see where that guy just now went?"

"Eh? What guy? There was nobody.."

 _EH? Did I just imagine it? But this note proves the opposite.._ I opened it and read what was written inside:

" _~Meet me in the garden behind the guild at 00.00 o'clock. Please come alone.~"_

 _Midnight? It's in a few minutes.. And who sent this? Whatever. I'll just go and see. If it's just some pervert, I'll kick his ass with my magic.. Somehow._

"Hey guys, I need some fresh air. I'll be right back, okay?" I said to the group before I went off.

 _The garden.. the garden.. Now that I think about it, I've never been here._ I went down the sidewalk until I saw a light in the end. As I came closer I could see some candles and roses. Roses everywhere! It looked really romantic.

 ***rustle rustle***

"Thank you, that you really came!" I sensed that a person appeared behind me. _That deep voice! I know it!_ "This whole time I wanted to say something important to you.." He continued.

As I turned around, he took my hands and held them tightly to his chest.

"G-Gr-Gray?"

He looked me deep in my eyes and made a serious face. "Today, I realized it. I'm really sorry how I treated you the past few days and weeks. The truth is.."

 _Shit! What is happening now? Why is he-_

"...Actually.. towards you.."

 _This can't be true! Don't tell me he's going to.._

"I-I.. I really li-"

 ***beep beep** * ***beep beep** *

 _What-?!_ I opened my eyes again. _Eh? My room? W-Wha- How?_

 ***beep beep* *beep beep***

I looked to my left and saw my alarm clock ringing. _Ugh! Was that all just a dream? FUCK. DID I REALLY DREAM ABOUT GRAY? What the hell is wrong with me? And all of a sudden, why did I dream that he was going to confess to me..?_

 **At the guild**

"Good morning, minna!"

"Oh, mornin' Juvia!" Levy smiled. "How did you like the Grand Masked Ball yesterday?"

"Right, it was your first time, wasn't it?" Cana chimed in.

"It was awesome! I really enjoyed it and I'm glad that Mira took some photos. Therefore I can keep this memory forever!" _That reminds me, I_ _need to find her later and ask for a copy of the pictures._

"Mmmhhmm.. Yesterday happened pretty much, right?" Cana smirked and winked at me.

"What do you mean?"

"The confession! Did you already forget?" She pouted.

 _EHH? What confession?! Don't tell me that it wasn't only a dream but really did happen.._

"The thing with Erza?" Levy giggled.

"Of course!" Cana began to laugh.

"Erza?"

"What? You really don't remember? We two started a drinking contest and then you didn't feel well, so we went outside for some fresh air. And then we saw Erza and her date in the garden. He asked her to come there and then he confessed to her. Really, it was pretty romantic with all the candle light and that big bouquet of red roses. You were a bit jealous and said that you wanted to experience such a moment too."

I blushed at what Cana just said. Did I really tell her something like that? _Wait. The_ _dream I had_ _today, was_ _that_ _just_ _a mix of Erza's experience and my wishful thinking_ _? But_ _then_ _why was Gray there? Only because he was kind to me just for once.. it's not like he likes me that way.._ _Why am I even thinking about this kind of stuff?!_ _But I have to admit, the dance last night was really wonderful._ _Maybe it wasn't all too bad that I participated._

"Okay, enough talking. Let's help the others to clean up all." Levy said.

"Ah, right! Now that the ball is over, we need to take off all the decorations.." I remembered.

"Though it's a bit sad. Time flies so fast.." Cana laughed.

"Agreed!"

I made sure that I didn't carry heavy stuff. Day by day I was feeling a bit fine again.

"Juvia! Wait!"

"Huh?" I looked behind me, wondering who called me. "Mira?"

"Hey! I was looking for you!" She smiled.

"Oh really? What's the matter?"

She handed me an envelope. "Here. This is for you."

"Hm? What is it?"

"There are the photos I took yesterday. I thought since this was your first ball ever, you would like to have these."

"Ehh? Really?" I hugged her. "Thank you very much!"

"You're welcome. *giggle*"

"I'm really happy! You know, I planned on asking you for them anyways. So thanks a lot!"

"It's fine! You were really looking forward to it, weren't you? Although I didn't see you yesterday. I guess there were just too many people with masks."

"Right? At the beginning I also had a few difficulties to find the others."

"Well, but it was a great night and there were quite wonderful moments too. Hehe.. Of course I captured them all."

"As expected from Mira!" I laughed.

"You do what you can. Ah, before I forget, maybe you know something about it.. There's a photo of Gray dancing with his date. They look so cute together. It's my favorite picture~ I keep asking him who his girlfriend is but he's doesn't tell me." Mira pouted.

 _Huh? So he also danced with another girl. I thought he came alone. But then why didn't he just tell the others about his date? Well, it has nothing to do with me either way._

"Sorry, he didn't mention something about it."

"Too bad. Well, if you know something tell me immediately, okay? I need this information. I want to know it sooo bad. Do you understand me?" Somehow Mira looked a bit creepy.

 _I better say nothing wrong._ "Y-Yeah sure." I sweat dropped.

"Thanks!" She smiled normal again. "Then, see ya!"

"Okay."

 **At Juvia's house**

I was lying on the couch in the living room. The clean up went faster than I thought. _I'm bored. What should I do now?_ _Maybe I check my mobile phone. I haven't heard from Nicco for a few days. He must be really hard working. I hope he takes care of himself and doesn't overwork._ **-N** **o new messages** **-** * _sigh*_ _Just like I thought, he's really busy._

 _And now?_ _…AH! The photos! Oh yeah, that's right! I can look through them. Earlier I was so excited when I got them, that I nearly forgot about it._

I sat up and took the envelope out of my bag. "Yosh! Let's take a look!"

 _Wow! Mira did a great job. Natsu and Lucy.. Gajeel and Levy.. Erza and her date.. even Elfman and Evergreen.. "_ Did she only take couple pictures?" I chuckled. _Well, after all this is how Mira is. She's always getting in high spirits when it comes to such things._

I almost went through all the pictures. _Ah! Here are the photos of me with Gray. Hahaha, how funny! What's with that forced expression we're having there? It looks hilarious. Okay, we were indeed forced to dance but after all it wasn't so bad. Somehow._

 _Huh? Is this already the last one? Oh my Mavis.. This picture.. It looks completely different from the others. It was the moment when I kinda wrapped my arms around his neck and then due to a push leaned towards him. Somehow we're really looking intimately. Right, that time I noticed his scent that was so familiar to me. And somehow Gray looks so gentle._ A small smile appeared on my face.

" _There's a photo of Gray dancing with his date."_

 _Hm? Now that I think, there weren't any of him dancing with another girl. I only saw the ones, where we were dancing. Could it be.. she mistook me for the girl?! She did say that she didn't see me but she took pictures of me with Gray. Didn't she recognize me?_

" _They look so cute together."_

 _Wait! Does this mean.. Nooo, that can't be! Hahaha.. No way. If I look closely again- Ugh, okay it looks a bit cute. A tiny little bit. But that means nothing. It's not like we were looking compatible or something like that._

" _I keep asking him who his girlfriend is"_

…

" _who his girlfriend is"_

…

" _his girlfriend"_

…

" _girlfriend"_

Suddenly, my dream from this morning popped up in my mind. _U_ _waaaah!_ I clearly felt how my cheeks turned red. _Come on Juvia,_ _just_ _get rid of the thought!_

 **A/N: Get ready for MORE Gruvia starting from the next chapter. ;)**


	19. Chapter 19

**Chapter 19**

 **Juvia's POV**

It's been about a week since the Grand Masked Ball. I felt much better and aside from several scratches nothing was seen. When I wasn't at home resting I was at the guild and had fun with my friends. During the whole week neither I nor Gray talked much to each other although our eyes met quite a few times. Sure, it was a bit weird since I had this dream about him but I tried my very best not to think about it.

And then it happened. I was about to go home, when someone gripped my wrist and it was nobody else than Gray. At first I was more than just surprised and lots of thoughts about why he waited for me being alone just to have a talk with me, ran through my mind. At the end, I worried for nothing. He just told me not to tell Mira that I was his dancing partner at the ball. That was all.

Really, I could have kicked my ass for thinking of other stupid stuff going to happen. Be that as it may, telling Mira about it would just cause more problems anyway. And now was definitely not the time to worry more than necessary.

Indeed there was one thing that bothered me the last days. It was Nicco, my boyfriend. I didn't even know anymore when he came home the last time. It must have been over two weeks, maybe even more. During the day I couldn't get him on the phone. Most of my messages were replied only at night, sometimes even at 2 o'clock in the morning -and this only after a couple of days. I wondered if he must work so much that he stayed up so late till night. Otherwise I couldn't think of a reason why he shouldn't answer me. I felt a bit lonely and missed him.

So today I invited my friends to hang out at my house. I already prepared some snacks and drinks. Now I was just waiting for them to come. It was a super hot day so I wore my black hot pants and my navy blue crop top.

 ***knock knock***

 _Ah! It must be them!_ I went to the door and opened it. It were Lucy and Erza.

"Hi Juvia!" They smiled.

"Hey girls! Just come in! Make yourselves at home."

"Thanks. Sorry to intrude."

"There are drinks on the table, don't hesitate to take some." I said while I closed to door.

"Oh great! You have some ice cubes too!" Lucy rejoiced.

"Of course! It would be difficult without some in this hell of a heat!"

"Yeah, you're right!" Erza giggled as she was fanning herself with her hands.

"Erza, you know, you can take off your armor any time if you want." I told her, since I could no longer watch how she struggled not to sweat under her big and heavy armor.

She glanced down for a moment and laughed. "Hahaha, I didn't even know that I was still wearing it. Probably it's indeed better if I take it off." She scratched her head with her arm.

Lucy and I just sweat dropped. _Really, Erza. Your armor weighs like 20 kilos. How can you not notice? Well, I presume that you're used to it. But still.._

"Before I forget, wasn't Levy with you?" I asked the two.

"Oh yeah, she's sorry that she can't come. Gajeel asked her out to go on a _mission_ today. You get it? A _MISSION_." Lucy smirked and emphasized the last part again.

"Gajeel.." I lightly shook my head. "Why can't he be more honest and say it properly?"

"Well, he's not the type of guy to say such things." Erza pointed out.

"Agreed!" We giggled.

"Hey, should we watch a movie to begin with?" I asked Lucy and Erza who sat with me on the couch.

"Mhm, what DVDs do you have?" Lucy answered back.

"Umm.. Just a moment!" I put my glass with juice on the little coffee table in front of us. Opposite the couch, there was the TV and on each side there was a shelf. I walked to the right one, which was full of DVDs.

"So what kind of movie do you wanna watch? I have here Action, Romance, Horror, Comedy, Adventure..." I listed as I looked through the rows.

"Wow! You sure have quite a lot, Juvia!" Lucy was astonished.

"You think so? I kinda like watching movies. I mean if your boyfriend isn't at home, you'll easily get bored, right?" I laughed. "So what genre do you prefer?"

"Hmm.." Lucy was thinking. But before she could say something she was interrupted by Erza.

"Action!" She bursted out loud. "I want to watch an action-movie! Nothing is better than an excellent fight scene." She raved.

"It's fine with me!" Lucy chuckled.

"Okay. So here are _Homefront_ _,_ _This Means War,_ _Elysium,_ _Inception, Batman Begins, The Dark Knight..._ umm.."

" _The Dark Knight_ sounds good! I already watched the first part of the trilogy." Erza said.

"Really? I also like them the most. Great, then let's get started!" I took the DVD from the shelf and looked at the cover.

 ***knock knock***

"Huh? They are already here?" Lucy asked.

"It looks that way." I went to open the door joyfully. "Natsu! You're here!"

"Yeah, hi Juvia!" He gave me a big smile. "I've finished earlier than expected."

"Great!" I chuckled. "Just come in and make yourself home."

"Thanks!" He stepped in. "And look whom I found on my way back." He suddenly dragged someone behind him by pulling on the shirt of the person who was apparently leaning against the wall beside the door.

"GRAY?"

"Tch." He scratched his head. "H-hi."

"Didn't you say that you had something better to do?" I asked him, still surprised that he really stood in front of me.

"It's not like I had a choice." He mumbled.

"Hm?" I lightly tilted my head to the side, not understanding what he was talking about.

"Ahh! Nothing! He looked bored and so lonely, so I took him with me." Natsu said while he put his arm around Gray's shoulder. "Right, popsicle?"

"SHUT UP, flame brain!" He shrugged.

"Okay okay.. chill!" Natsu laughed.

"So.. you two came just in time. We were going to watch a movie."

"Really? Which one?"

I smirked and held the DVD in the air. " _The Dark Knight_." Gray's eyes widened for a split second.

"That's awesome!" Natsu said happily. "Great choice!"

"Grab a drink and have a seat." I said and made my way to the DVD-Player.

"Hey Natsu, Gray!" Lucy greeted them as they went to the coffee table where they poured themselves some ice tea and added some ice cubes from the cooling box.

"Hey Luce, Erza! What's up?" I heard Natsu say while Gray just gave a short "Yo!"

"Nothing much. How did it go? And Gray, I'm glad you came too." Lucy giggled. You could only hear Gray grumbling.

"It was easy and most of all DELICIOUS!" He stroke his belly. _That's right. Due to this heat some forests caught fire, so Natsu was asked to go there and extinguish it. As expected of a fire dragon slayer this was an easy task since he just had too eat up the whole flames._

"Okay guys, the movie can start."

Unfortunately, the couch wasn't big enough for all of us so I pushed the little coffee table a bit forward and took a seat on the ground, my back leaning on the couch. To my right, Lucy sat with me. Behind me on the couch sat the others, Gray, Natsu and Erza.

During the movie I somehow felt hot. I didn't know if it was because of the heat or because there was a certain someone behind me whose fingers slightly touched my neck for quite a long time now. I gulped at first before I pulled myself together and turned my head very slowly to the left to dare a look over my shoulder. There I saw Gray, sitting cross-legged and bending forward with his hands leaning onto the edge of the couch where my neck was but he didn't seem to notice it. His face looked still grumpy, maybe even a bit more than he first came in.

 _Doesn't he like the movie? He really doesn't look satisfied. I don't want him to be bored. Since Natsu dragged him here he should at least enjoy himself a bit._

" **KYYYAAAAAAAAAAAAA!** " Lucy screamed all of a sudden, which caused all of us to shrug. "NATSU! WHAT THE HELL?!" She arched her back.

Natsu just bursted out in laughter as we observed the two. Apparently, he placed an ice cube in Lucy's shirt.

"Bwa ha ha ha ha.. M-my st-stoma-ach ..h-urts.. I-I'm .. d.. d-dying.." He said between his laughter.

"Well." Gray spoke in a suspicious calm voice. "THEN LET ME HELP YOU!" He punched him with all his strength in the face.

Just before their fight could cause any serious damage to themselves OR MY HOUSE, Erza separated the two and gave them a death glare. "Behave BOYS. You're not at the guild." With that they immediately went silent and for the last 30 minutes of the movie she sat between them to avoid any contact. Some minutes passed and Natsu looked happy again. However, Gray seemed to reach a new level of bad mood. Somehow he was really pissed. His sternly gaze made me worry. * _sigh* What should I do?_

After the movie ended I went to the kitchen to replace the ice cubes, which have melted due to the heat. Somehow it was really getting hotter in here.

"Hey Juvia! Where should I put this?" Natsu showed up with an empty bowl in his hand.

"Ah, you can put this here. I'll fill it up with some snacks in a moment."

"Naah! It's fine, I can do it."

"Thanks!" I smiled and pointed where the pack of chips was.

"Err.. Natsu.. Say.. Doesn't Gray like watching this kind of movies?" I hesitated at first.

"What?" He laughed in disbelief at what I just said. "Gray? Our Gray?! This ice princess is a big fan of such movies."

"No way.." I couldn't believe him.

"Yup. And today you hit the jackpot!"

"Eh? What do you mean?"

"Well, this movie is his favored one." He chuckled.

"Whhhhaaaat…?!"

"I'm serious, he's really into that kind of stuff."

"But he looked so tense. And at the end he was quite mad!"

"Hahaha.. Yeah, probably he was too focused on the movie 'cause he haven't seen the second part yet. Well, and then there was my little prank which kind of destroyed the atmosphere and the tension.. Hehe.." Natsu scratched his head. "Don't worry! Although he didn't show it, he surely enjoyed it." He smiled.

 _Now, t_ _hat's a relief…_ _Ugh!_ _I can't stand it anymore._ _It's really too hot in here._ "Hey, Natsu! I'll go check the air conditioner, okay? I'll be right back."

"Sure!"

…

 _Huh? Why doesn't it work anymore?_ _Is it broken? No waaay! This can't be._ I tried my very best but it didn't work out so I went to the others again. "Hey guys, it seems like the air con-" I stopped immediately when I saw Gray sitting shirtless on the ground with a PS4 controller in his hands. "KYYAAA!" I screamed and covered my eyes.

"What the heck, Lockser!" He looked back.

"GRAY! W-why don't you have y-your shirt on?" I slowly took my hands off and felt how my face turned red.

"'Cause it's hot obviously?" He said and faced the screen to play again. "No need to startle me that much.." He mumbled.

"Err.. W-where are the others?"

"In the kitchen to grab some ice." He said calmly.

I looked behind and saw them there, chatting while they filled their glasses with ice cubes. _Oh right! I forgot to bring_ _the cooling box_ _here to the table.._ I sat on the couch and tried to think how to make the air conditioner work again but I ended up staring at Gray.

 _He looks so calm and carefree when he plays the game. Just like a little boy.. *giggle* Damn! But those muscles definitely don't belong to a little boy. He sure has a nice well-built body. This firm chest and those perfect abs, even this little drop of sweat which is running down his Adam's apple and neck.. every little thing just looks so damn perfect._ _Maybe I shouldn't say this but right now he sure looks pretty hot.. hot.. HOT? What am I thinking?! I guess the heat was gone to my head. Yeah that must be the reason. But still.._

 _I remember his cold eyes full of hatred at the beginning but now they seem to soften. A tiny little bit... Yeah! These eyes! I'm exactly talking about these steel gray eyes which seem to look deep into your soul._

"Umm.. Lockser?" I snapped out of my thoughts when I realized that Gray was actually looking at me.

"N-No no no! T-this isn't what it l-looks like! I-I-"


	20. Chapter 20

**A/N: Everyone, thank you! I'm really happy that you like the story so far. & To the newest guest review: I was just writing the new chapter when I saw your comment/suggestion regarding Juvia's boyfriend and I chuckled instantly 'cause it was exactly what I intended to do. xD So have fun reading it! **

**Chapter 20**

 **At Juvia's house**

 **Gray's POV**

 _I love this game! First 'The Dark Knight' and then this awesome game. Hahaha.. Maybe it wasn't too bad to stay here. Yeah Lockser, I suppose you're not as annoying and boring as I thought. However, it's really hot in here. And somehow I feel like someone looks daggers at me._

I turned my head to the side and saw Lockser staring at me. Normally, she would avert her gaze after a few seconds but she was still staring.

"Umm.. Lockser?"

"Eh?" She flinched lightly, realizing what she was doing. Then she blushed deep red. "N-No no no! T-this isn't what it l-looks like! I-I-"

 _*Pffft!* What's with that reaction.. You like what you see, huh?_ I smirked in my mind.

"GUYS! Wanna see how I melt the ice cubes in the air, blindfolded of course!" Flame Brain just approached us and came up with his oh-so genius idea. *sigh* _Seriously, sometimes I have the urge to open his skull to convince myself that there's really no brain._

"Natsu.." Lucy facepalmed, followed by Ezra who gave him a dark look. "Don't you even dare to think twice about it!"

"I-it was o-obviously just a j-joke!" He stuttered in fear. _Yeah, OBVIOUSLY._

..

Time passed by. I was playing the whole time on the PS4 with Natsu, while the girls either watched us or talked girls stuff. I was so deepened in that game that I didn't notice how late it already was. However, the sun was still shining. Nonetheless, it was time to go home.

"Thank you for today! It was a lot of fun." Erza said.

"Yeah! Let's do this sometime again. I was all fired up!"

Lockser giggled at Natsu's comment. "Well, then. Be safe on your way home."

"Of course! And are you sure that you don't need any help?" Lucy asked her.

"Nope." Lockser shook her head. "You already helped to clean up. The only thing that is left to do, is to fix this damn air conditioner. Otherwise I'll shrink in this heat.. *sigh* But don't worry! I'll do something about it.. somehow.."

 _So it's so hot in here because of the broken air conditioner.. Not that I care but I could certainly fixed it._

"Well then, we're leaving. See you tomorrow, okay? And good luck!"

"Mhm. Thanks for your visit." Lockser smiled happily.

She waved Flame Brain and the others as they left through her door. She shortly glared at me who was leaning on the wall beside the door with my arms crossed over my chest.

"Umm.. You aren't leaving?" She asked me confused.

 _It's not like I do it especially for her but I feel like I should do this, since the 'thing' at the ball happened. I dragged her to dance with me and_ _since then_ _Mira keeps on nagging me who 'my girl' is. This must be awkward for Lockser too, so I'm grateful she didn't tell her and bears with it._

"The air conditioner. Show it to me." I said bluntly with a little hint of helping her out.

"Eh? Why do you wanna see it?" She asked me being completely clueless about my intention. _Geez!_ _Are you dense?_ _Don't you get it when someone offers you his help?!_

"Just do it." I sighed.

"O-Okay.." She said hesitantly.

..

I switched some cables, turned some controllers and clicked some buttons. It wasn't too difficult, since I knew how to handle it. _I don't want to show off or anything, but I've got pretty amazing skills._

"Hmm.. This should be working now." I said as I finished my work.

Lockser turned it on and then we heard the familiar sound of something working out really well, followed by a pleasant air flow.

"Ah~ This feels sooo good!~" A big smile appeared on her face. She closed her eyes for a moment, turning her lightly flushed face towards the air flow which caused several strands of her hair to blow in different directions.

 _I don't think I ever saw her so natural. Not that I ever paid attention but right now she does look somewhat c-cute._

…

 _I can't believe I just that.._

"Thank you, Gray! I owe you!" Lockser faced me with this same joyful smile.

"It's fine. Don't read too much into it." I looked away and scratched the back of my head. _Seriously, don't give me that look.._

"Anyways, I'm leaving now, bye. …And.. thanks.. for today..."

"Sure!"

 **The next morning**

 _And here we go again.._

It was about 11 o'clock in the morning and I stood in front of Lockser's house. _How could I be so stupid to forget my shirt. Not only that.. In my shirt pocket there was also the new request sheet. Geez!_

 ***knock knock***

..

…

 _Hm? Isn't she awake yet? But it's already 11 a.m… And I really need that sheet._

 ***knock knock***

..

"...C..Coming.." I heard a sleepy voice and some footsteps coming closer. Then the door opened.

"W-What… is it?" Before me stood Lockser with one hand covering her mouth from yawning while the other was on the doorknob. Her hair looked a bit messy and her eyes fought not to fall asleep again. She wore an oversized white T-shirt. And ONLY that.

 _Apparently, I woke her up. Was she really sleeping until now?_

"Gray?" She rubbed her eyes. "What are doing here so early in the morning?" _Wait- Did she just really say 'early in the morning'..?_

"Err.. Sorry to... wake you up…? I forgot my shirt yesterday."

"Ah.. y-yeah. Just come in."

As I walked in I saw a blanket on the couch where we sat the day before. _Did she slept here?_ I looked behind the couch and found my shirt. It laid there just like I threw it yesterday. When I was about to go, I noticed that the PS4 was turned on though it wasn't the game I played before.

"You can play if you want." Lockser said when she caught me staring on the screen.

"What are you-"

"I was playing till night so I felt asleep here." She yawned. "If you want it so badly just play."

 _Well.. It's not like I don't want to.. I just feel a bit strange. I mean I shouldn't stay here any longer than I actually need. But then again.. THE GAME..! I didn't finish it yesterday. The heck with it! One round won't hurt._

I walked up to the left shelf next to the TV and searched for the game I played.

"You sure have a lot of war games for a girl.." I pointed out mumbling.

"Ah! No, those aren't mine. They belong to Nicco." She said smiling. _Her boyfriend, huh?_

I sat on the ground just like yesterday, leaning my back on the couch and started to play my game.

"Soo.. Is he good?" I asked after a few seconds.

"The best player I know. He doesn't come home often due to his work, but when he's here we always play together."

 _Lockser seems really happy with him. It's none of my business but I think he should show up a bit more. I mean always coming back only to pick up some new stuff and then leaving again.. no matter how busy he is, I have a feeling that there is something more._

..

"Mmmm.." Lockser struggled with something.

"What's wrong?" I asked her, not averting my gaze from the screen.

"It's this letter.." She looked through the post she just received a moment ago. "It concerns Nicco's work, he should get in touch with a certain man as soon as possible."

"So what's the problem? Just call him and tell." I said annoyed.

"B-But he surely is busy right now. He doesn't like when I disturb him in the middle of work."

"Your his _girlfriend_ , aren't you? If it's about work, he should know immediately. Besides, it's Sunday, so I doubt he's busy." I sighed. _Somehow I don't like him._

"Perhaps you're right. I'll just call him." She cheered up again.

…

"Hm. Somehow I can't get him on the phone. I already called him two times."

"Wrong number?"

"Nahh, I don't think so. I'll try it one last time. If he doesn't answer, I'll call later again."

It seemed that Lockser could reach him. "Ah! Hey Nicco! I-" Suddenly she went silent. "EH? WHAT DO YOU MEAN 'YOU'RE BUSY'? Who are-?" I shortly glanced at her to check if she was alright and then turned away again. _Is she having a fight with him? But it doesn't concerns me_ _anyway_ _._

"..." I heard a sob. Then another. "..N-Nicco? W-Who was t-that woman just now? What did she m-mean by- What were you t-two just n-now-"

My eyes immediately widened at this sentence. _Don't tell that bastard of a boyfriend just now was-_ _Shit!_ I turned around to face Lockser. She was shaking and had already wet eyes. Just when our eyes met, tears began to run down her face. She couldn't stop herself from crying anymore. I rushed over to her and she just fell over me, grabbing my shirt and holding it really tight. She buried her face in my chest while sobbing uncontrollably.

"H-He… he.. h-has.." Was all she managed to say between her cries. I didn't really know how to calm her down, so I just embraced her with my arms to stop her from trembling. It's the first time I see her like this and somehow I feel so useless to help her.

" _Juvia, Babe! Please hear me out! I'm sorry!_ _Please forgive me-_ _"_ I heard from her cellphone.

 _That bastard!_

Without thinking too much, I grabbed her phone and yelled "YOU LITTLE PIECE OF SHIT! GO FUCK YOURSELF! If you call her ever again, I'LL KILL YOU!"

Lockser was still crying. Now even more. _Shouldn't have I done this? But he deserved it!_

"Oi Lockser! Come on, you won't be crying over that trash, right?" I whispered into her ear and stroke her back with my hand. She was a bit quieter now but her tears just didn't want to stop.

"A-All this time.. h-he was doing.. t-this. And… and I-I" She trembled.

"Hey, now stop thinking that stuff! There are bad guys as well as good guys in the world. And he is definitely an asshole." I tried to calm her down but failed somehow as she sobbed now even more.

"Listen, what I mean is, don't depend your happiness on a guy who didn't even deserve you, okay?" I lightly stroke her head. She was silent for the moment and finally her tears stopped too.


	21. Chapter 21

**A/N: Hey there!~ I'm still alive. :D Have fun reading it. The next chapters will be a bit longer.**

 **Chapter 21**

 **Juvia's POV**

So, it had been almost three weeks since _that thing_ happened. And although I wasn't one of those girls who acted like their breakup meant the end of their world, the incident hurt me more than I thought I could take. At first. I mean, yeah, who wouldn't feel the same anger, disappointment and especially the pain? The whole time I asked myself what I did wrong so that something this bad could happen to me.

But then after some days, I realized that I obviously met the wrong guy.

Maybe it was wrong to say that I was now a bit glad that he didn't come home very often before _that_ _thing_ happened.

 _Honestly, I can't even remember the last time he came. I think it's for the best._

I tried to erase this unpleasant memory of _him._ Thanks to Levy and Lucy, who were there for me I could move on a lot better than I could have on my own. I couldn't tell them what was going on, cause I somehow was feeling too embarrassed that I was cheated on. I mean, I've always told them how happy I was with him and what a perfect guy he was. In the end I just felt pathetic.

But Gray, well, he helped me out and informed them, that it was better to have girls around who could comfort me at such a difficult time. Even now, when I remember how I was sobbing and clinging to him, my face flushes red. His hand was laying protectively over my head while he was gently stroking my hair at the same time. And with his other arm he embraced my back, pulling me further to him. I didn't know if it was for the strong grip, the calming words he whispered to my ear or the familiar scent he had, that made me feel safely in his arms.

Until now, I thought that he hated me abysmally and that he enjoyed it when I got hurt, but somehow my mind changed. Mira once said that Gray cares for his friends. I wouldn't say that he sees me as his friend but on that day he cared about me. He didn't have to, he also could have just told me how miserable I was and then leave. Instead, he stayed with me.

 _I'm really thankful to him._

As I walked down the street I reached the guild.

"Hey Juvia!" Lucy came greeting me. "How was your mission?"

 _Oh yeah, that's right. After the breakup I went on a lot of missions, mostly to distract myself and have some time alone to clear my head._

"This one was tough, but I did it!" I smiled back.

"That's good too hear." She lightly clapped on my back. "You wanna a drink? Mira has some good new stuff."

"Sure, sounds great!"

I made my way to Mira's bar. Lucy went back to the table with Natsu, Levy, Erza and Gajeel who all waved at me. _In the end, it's nice to have lovely friends around,_ I thought as I smiled.

"Hi Mira, how's it going?" I said to the white haired mage behind the counter.

"Oh Juvia! I'm good, how was the mission? Wanna try my new tropical cocktail mix?" She asked preparing the ingredients. I nodded and sat down on one of the barstool.

"Well, it was kind of challenging and dangerous at one point but nothing I couldn't have finished." I laughed jokingly.

Mira's expression became a bit worried. "You know, you don't have to go alone on such missions. Wouldn't it be better if you at least bring someone along with you?"

"..I know. I will, now that I feel a lot better. But before I really had to do it on my own. So I could prove myself, that I'm strong after all that happened, I guess.." I explained while looking determinately into her eyes.

"If that's the case. _*chuckle*_ I'm glad that you're doing fine!" Mira said and handed me the drink. "Here. It' on the house!"

"Thanks Mira!" I smiled at her, taking a sip.

"You're welcome! Oh by the way, have you decided where you want to move?"

"Mmmh.." I thought. "Almost. Well I did find a nice place in a hotel-like apartment. It's expensive but still cheaper than living in a big house on my own, now that _he_ doesn't pay his part of the rent anymore."

"I see."

"Well, thanks to those missions, I could earn enough money to afford this apartment. But who knows, maybe I'll find something better." I said, sipping my drink again.

"Huh? You're moving, Juvia?" I looked to my right, where the voice came from. There stood Lucy and Gray, their eyes wide opened.

"Eh.. well.." I couldn't finish my sentence when Lucy interrupted me.

"NO! You can't leave us! I know that you perhaps are still reminded of that douchebag here, but here are also your friends, so don't you dare leaving us, you hear me!" She held my hands and stared very upset into my eyes.

"L-Lucy, you're misunderstanding..." I sweat dropped and back away a little. "Yes I'm moving out, but I will still stay here in Magnolia."

"..." She remained silent for a second. "Whaaat?! Why didn't you tell me before? I feel like an idiot for making such a scene."

"He he he... sorry!" I smiled awkwardly. Mira just giggled.

"Jeez! …Whatever. Mira, could you make us two of your new creation, please?" Lucy turned to Mira. "Sure!"

While the two girls chatted with each other, Gray came around to my left and chose to sit next to me to wait for his order. I wouldn't deny the fact that lately I felt a bit nervous around him although I didn't really know why. I wondered what he was doing right now, so I briefly glanced at him. Unfortunately, he looked at my way and then I averted my gaze out of instinct and took a big gulp of my drink instantly.

"Oi Lockser.." I shrugged at the sudden sound of his voice and almost choked on the liquid in my mouth. _He must think that I'm weird now.._

I faced him wanting to know what he is up to.

"Did _he_ call you again?" Gray asked with no expression.

"Huh?" _Why is he asking me that?_ "N-No." I answered, looking at the counter. "Why do you wanna know?" I glanced at him again.

"No reason." He said bored, resting his chin in his palm.

"Gray?"

"What?"

"Thank you for helping me." I said quietly, but loud enough for him to hear it. "I couldn't tell you properly but I was really grateful that you were there for me."

His eyes widened in surprise. "And I'm sorry you had to see me so.. awful."

"You don't need to apologize for that. I've already said it once, it wasn't your fault, so just don't think about that asshole ever again, okay?" He smirked at me.

"Yeah." I nodded happily with a hint of blush on my cheeks. _Seriously, he only smirked at me, so why is my heart beating faster?_

"Here is your drink, Gray~!" Mira said, giving him his order. "Thanks."

"..."

"…Mira?"

"What is it, Gray~?"

"Why are you still grinning? It gives me the creeps." Gray shuddered.

"AH~ Well you know… Lucy just now was so kind to tell me who _'your girl'_ at the Grand Masked Ball was.~ _"_ Mira's smile was now bigger than before, if that was even possible.

"Oh. Shit-!" Was all that Gray could say.

"Why didn't you tell me earlier? And Juvia, I thought we were friends who have no secrets." She faked a tear drop.

"Honestly, I've forgotten about that thing.." I sweat dropped.

Just when I watched how Mira teasing Gray, Lucy tapped on my shoulder to have my attention.

"Juvia, if you need some help with your moving I can lend you a hand, okay? Don't hesitate to ask." She smiled.

"Thanks Lucy, I really appreciate your help!" I smiled back. _I am really glad to have such nice friends who are always there for me._

"By the way…"

"Huh? What is it?"

"Where do you wanna move to?" She asked me. "Have you found a place yet?"

"Yeah kinda. I'm thinking to move to a hotel-like apartment here in Magnolia."

"Ah, is that so? Which one is it exactly?"

"Hmmm… I don't really remember the address but it shouldn't be so far away from the guild. I think the name was Star…Starlat…Starlot.."

"Do you by chance mean S _tarlight_?" Lucy asked a bit too curious.

"Yeah! I think that's the right name!"

"Wait- Juvia, did you just say your moving to _Starlight_?" Mira chimed in, leaving Gray open mouthed.

"Y-Yes." _Okay, what's going on..?_

"NO, you -mmpft!" Just when Gray obviously wanted to say something, Mira put her hands on his mouth to shut him up.

"Don't listen to him, Juvia! I think that's a wonderful idea~!" Mira grinned at me like nothing was happening. "Don't you agree, Lucy?" Mira winked at her.

"Of course!~ Juvia, believe me when I say that you'll regret it if you don't move there!"

"O-okay."

 _I'm not sure what is going on with them._ _And w_ _hy do I have this strange feeling about it?_


	22. Chapter 22

**Chapter 22**

 **Juvia's POV**

"Is this the last one?" Lucy pointed to a box, she just finished to tape.

"Mhm." I nodded in response and set a check behind _dishes and cutlery_ on my list.

Today was the day; the day I finally moved out from my old house to my new home. It wasn't all that hard to leave it behind in the end. I mean, I did have some good memories there but I was simultaneously reminded of all that other bullshit too. And now was the time to put that to rest for good. Lucy and Cana came this morning to help me with my stuff. It was already afternoon when we were done.

"Yosh!" Lucy clapped her hands and wiped off the dust. "Cana, it's your turn now!" She smiled at her.

Cana's contribution to the moving process up to this point had been to eat all the donuts, drink the booze and give 'helpful' instructions. But all was excused because she had some nice trick up her sleeve.

"Alright, leave it to me!" Cana reached for a blank card from her deck and with some intricate hand movements that no one could really follow, the room was suddenly filled with a bright light. But as soon as it appeared, it vanished and left an empty place where all the boxes were. They were now captured in that single card.

"Wow!" is all what I could say. It was always amazing seeing Cana use her magic.

"Hehe!"She laughed and took another big sip of her booze.

 **At Starlight**

"So Juvia, where's your new apartment?" Lucy asked me right away when I came back from the reception to receive the key.

"Umm.. It's room 711 on the seventh floor." I remembered what the reception lady said to me before.

" _Oh!~_ The _seventh_ floor, is it now.." She glanced at Cana and then raised her eyebrow mockingly in my direction.

Cana played along. She smirked mischievously at me and put an arm over my shoulder to bring me closer to her. " _Well_ , isn't that a _lucky_ day now~?"

"Yeah, a REALLY _lucky_ day!" Lucy emphasized and giggled.

 _Did I miss something? Their behavior is somewhat weird. I'm not sure if I should asked about it..._

"Okaaay.. Then let's head to the room!" _Nah, I guess I rather don't ask._

We took the elevator on the right side of the lobby. At first I struggled to find the button with the "7". _I did know that the building was really huge but who would have thought that there were 20 floors?!_

 ***ping** *

The doors opened and we walked down the long floor. It was covered in a dark red carpet and I almost felt as if I was at a move award ceremony or something. The walls were beige-colored and decorated with nature-art and photos of Fiore's famous places. It was really pretty. I already enjoyed the new atmosphere. We passed some doors and I couldn't wait to find mine.

"707.. 709.." I muttered. "Ah! 711! Here it is!" I said joyfully and opened the brown wooden door with the key. "Welcome to my new home!" I swung open the door and entered the room followed by Lucy and Cana.

"Wooow! This is pretty huge for a single apartment!" Cana whistled while looking around.

"I agree! Everything's so lovely, Juvia!" Lucy added.

"Yeah!" I smiled to myself thinking about the wonderful life that would lie before of me. "I'm glad that I chose this one. It looks really comfortable. I'm sure I'll have a lot of fun here."

"Yeah, _I'll bet_!" Cana started to laugh and seconds later Lucy joined in.

 _There they are again, giggling about something I don't get._

"Okay enough for now. Here are your boxes, Juvia." Cana calmed down, then snapped with her fingers and with the same bright light the boxes appeared in front of me.

"Thanks Cana!" I turned to the brunette. "And thank you too, Lucy! I really appreciated your help." I smiled at both of them and bowed slightly.

"You're welcome!" Lucy smiled. "So what now? Should we go and eat lunch together?" She asked us.

"Yeah, and I need more booze too!" Cana grinned, holding her empty bottle in the air to show us. Her _eighteenth_ bottle since this morning by the way.

 _Seriously, just how much can this woman drink? Does she even have any limits?_

"Umm.. Actually, I wanted to start putting my stuff away and make some room." The boxes, indeed, took away almost all space in the living room now. "But you two, go ahead and eat lunch if you want. I'll catch up on you later." I didn't want to bother them any further and hold them back from their lunch. _They already helped me enough. Plus it doesn't take much time to clean up anyway._

"Well, alright, sounds like a plan. Come to the guild later, okay?" Lucy said heading to the door.

"Yay! More booze!" Cana laughed following her. Just when I wanted to see them off, Cana turned back to face me and winked. "Hey, if you ever need some help just ask your neighbors. I heard they are _really_ friendly!"

"Hm?" I tilted my head to the side not understanding the little hint of sarcasm. "Umm.. O-okay thanks..?" _...Hmm. Does she know the neighbors? I thought it was her first time visiting this hotel._

As the two girls vanished into the elevator, I closed my door and started to unpack the boxes. Slowly my shelves filled up. I got a bit lost in decorating after that. Photos of me and my friends were hung up on the plain with walls and flowers decorated the window still. Now it looked indeed lovely. I smiled to myself and checked my cellphone. Almost three hours passed!

 _Oh. Shit. Lucy and Cana are surely waiting.._

I quickly collected the empty boxes and hurried to the elevator. I probably shouldn't have carried them all at once though because now I couldn't see a thing in front of me but oh well.

Of cause I wouldn't be the clumsy person I am, if something stupid wasn't going to happen. Yeah, luck was definitely _not_ on my side. I only passed some doors and then it happened.

 ***thud***

Suddenly, something hard hit me, causing me to lose my balance. I fell onto the ground with all the carton flying everywhere. "I'm so sorry!" I quickly apologized looking up to see a swung open door. "I-I wasn't looking where I was going.." I stood up. _Well done Juvia, your first neighbor_ _and you already_ _look like a total dor_ _k._ "I really didn't want to cause any trouble.." I bowed deeply.

"It's okay. It was my fault too." A male voice answered. _Huh? That voice!_

I looked up and saw a raven haired guy coming out behind the door. My heart immediately started to throb faster.

"G-Gray?" I stuttered in disbelief. _Why?!_ _What is he doing here?_

"Fuck." He said under his breath, his eyes widened. His gaze then wandered from me to the carton and boxes on the floor. "Don't tell me you moved exactly to this floor." He said in an annoyed tone. And if that wasn't enough his cold eyes made it more difficult for me to look at him.

"Well.. um..." I scratched my head looking to the side, not knowing how to respond to his reaction. "…yeah." I smiled troubled.

 _Is he pissed? He seems like he's pissed._

 ***heavy sigh***

 _Yep, he is pissed._

Suddenly, something came to my mind. When I told Lucy I was going to live here, Gray tried to say I couldn't but was stopped by Mira.

 _Was it perhaps because he lives here? Wait- Does this make us neighbors now?_ A small blush appeared on my cheeks and my heart pounded a bit faster at this imagination.

 _...But he tried to stop me from doing so. Meaning, he didn't want me to move to this place at all, did he? And this means, I'm not welcome here.._ Realizing this, my mood dropped and I felt my heart tighten a little.

"Sorry, I…didn't know you…live here." I averted his look and started to recollect the carton from the floor, so I could quickly escape from this awkward situation. "Don't worry, I'll try not to get in your way here.." I smiled faintly.

I didn't know why but I felt a bit sad. I wasn't expecting him to get all happy about it or so. Hell, I wasn't even expecting anything! In fact, I just learned a moment ago that he lives here. And for a second I secretly felt happy about being so close to him.

Apparently, Gray noticed my drop in mood too.

"H-hey, I didn't mean it in a bad way." He started to help me with the boxes. "It's just.." He trailed off in thoughts.

I looked up at him, wondering what he was going to say. _If he didn't mean it in a bad way, then how did he mean it?_

He met my gaze and for a second it felt like the time stopped and our eyes looked deep into each other's soul. Feeling the tension probably overwhelmed he looked away and I swore I could see a tiny little pink on his cheek.

"N-Never mind. I was just surprised. Just don't take it seriously."

I nodded slightly, feeling a bit better.

By this time, we finished to collect all the boxes. I wanted him to give me those he held in his arms, but he insisted to carry them and even took mine, saying that I was too stupid to do hold them properly. I pouted in response, although I knew that this was just his way to help.

After dumping them in the garbage container, I bowed happily to him. "Thank you very much, Gray!"

"It was nothing. Don't get all up for such a little thing." He looked away, a bit embarrassed.

I just smiled. _How cute! Behind the cold facade, there was actually some kindness._

"Yeah, well, then I'm heading off.." He said, turning his feet.

"Wait!" I unconsciously pulled on the end of his shirt to stop him.

"…"

"Are you going to the guild?"

"…Yeah."

"Great, I was on my way there too!"

"…"

Gray just stood there for some time, looking at me intensely, before he decided to come slowly closer, contrary to me, who took the same steps back.

"W-what?" I asked him nervously. His gaze already caused me to blush deeply and he noticed it for sure.

He bent over so he was at eye-level with me. I could even smell his cologne. And it smelled _good_. But he didn't stop there. His face came closer and closer that only a few inches prevented our faces from making contact. I even shut my eyes, not able to return his gaze anymore. My heart pounded as if it would explode any second.

Then I felt his hot breath on my ear, following by a whisper in his deep and sexy voice, which gave me the shivers. "Can't keep you hands to yourself, now can you Lockser?"

I opened my eyes immediately, only to see him smirking mischievously at me. It was then, that I realized that I was still pulling on his shirt. _I could melt right now. In this moment._

Now my face burnt even more. Out of embarrassment too but more because of what just happened.

"GRAY!" I let go off his shirt and smacked him lightly on his arm. "Say it more like a normal person would do!" I pouted, my face still deep red.

 _He didn't have to do this in such a way. It leads to misunderstandings! I already get nervous when I'm with him. I don't need a heart attack because my heart isn't able to take it all.._

He just chuckled. "I couldn't help it. The situation was literally calling for it!" He laughed again.

It was the first time I saw him laughing like this. From the bottom of his heart. Okay, maybe that was a bit exaggerated but it was still a warm and honest laugh, that almost made me forget my anger.

"Come on, let's head to the guild now!" He said, having a good mood. "I'll even let you hold my shirt again, if you have an itch for it." He joked and winked at me.

"Stop teasing me!" I pouted again, walking a bit faster before him, so he couldn't see that my face reddened again.

"Okay okay.." I heard him chuckling "..whatever you say, _neighbor_!"

 _That's right. We are neighbors now. So that means that I'll get to see him A LOT now. I just hope, that we' ll get along well with each other. Maybe even a bit better than the past weeks._

 _Be it for his mysterious and cool character or his damn hot body. It could also be because of our similar elements that I somehow feel a bit attracted to him._

 _But I also know that he doesn't see me the same way, I see him. But that's okay. As long as we can talk like this, it's enough for me._


	23. Chapter 23

**Chapter 23**

 **Juvia's POV**

Just now we are packing for our next mission. It's been about a week since I became neighbor with Gray. I still get nervous every single time I see him coming out of his apartment or when we meet each other randomly in the elevator. I couldn't deny my feelings for him anymore. The butterflies in my stomach just wouldn't allow it.

Especially Mira noticed it too. It's like she had a radar or something which helped her sense the "love moods", as she would call it. It was rather embarrassing. These past few days she would find various ways of trying to bring Gray and me closer. Not that I minded it, secretly I hoped something would happen, but Gray seemed not to get the hint.

I took one last look in the mirror to check my outfit. Content with my dark blue mini-shorts and a cute white top with a yellow butterfly on it, I grabbed my backpack and went out of my apartment, only to meet Gray leaning on the wall beside my door.

"You sure take your time!" He looked at me up and down smirking.

I was surprised and blushed a bit, "I didn't know you were waiting for me."

"Yeah, yeah.. Otherwise you wouldn't make it to the station in time. Come on now or do you want to miss our train?"

"Of course not!" I shook my head. Following him, I couldn't help but smile.

 _He really waited for me~_

 **Time skip**

"Finally guys! I thought you wouldn't make it in time!" Lucy shouted when she saw us coming.

"Damn! What took you so long, Gray? Did you forget about the mission when you took your sweet time with Juvia?" Natsu joked.

I immediately blushed at his blunt words. Well, I mean Gray would be on time if he didn't wait till I was ready. _But still I'm happy that he did._

"Shut it, Flame Brain." Gray retorted. "Just go in the train already!"

As if on cue Natsu creased his face. No wonder. Just the idea of going by a public transport turns his stomach.

After two hours we finally arrived. For Natsu it was a hell of a ride, like always, for us others it was pleasant.

"So what do we do now?" I asked the group.

"I need to eat something first! Happy, what do you think?" Natsu grinned as if the ride didn't take a toll on him.

"Aye, Sir!"

"Aw come on, Flamefreak! Just say, that you are too weak and can't kick some asses otherwise." Gray smirked at Natsu.

 _Oh no! Here they go again.._

"What did you say, Droopy Eyes?!" Natsu gritted his teeth and pulled at the collar of Gray's shirt, who in return did the same with Natsu's. "You wanna fight? I have plenty energy left to beat the daylights out of you! Bring it on!"

Before anything could happen, Lucy went between them and tore them apart. "Guys! It's enough. Save your power for the real fight later."

Both boys glared at each other a bit longer, then looked away and started to walk with their hands in their pockets towards a dining bar in silence.

Lucy and I sweat dropped. "It's always remarkable to see how they find petty excuses just to look for a reason to fight each other. And the next second they behave like nothing happened and go back to being normal."

"Yeah, they've always been this way. I think it's because of their clashing Magic." Lucy murmured back to me.

After we all had lunch and refreshed our energy, we discussed our plan on how to succeed this mission. We didn't know where the evil guy was but his magic power was pretty strong.

He created a huge number of puppets, who destroyed everything and left a path of chaos behind them.

Our plan consisted of Gray, Lucy and I to deal with the puppets and Natsu to track down the bad guy and finish him off.

Although Gray complained, that he wanted to be the one to do the final blow, we agreed that Natsu and his Dragon Slayer skills was a better choice.

"Damn, they are so persistent!" Gray said while taking down at least five of the enemies with his Ice-Make Arrows.

"It's like, there's no end!" I looked behind me and attacked three with my Water Slicer, "Why does Natsu take so long?"

 _We're fighting for_ _more than_ _30 minutes now and_ _it really doesn't seem like there will be any less of the puppets._

"I swear, if it was me, the guy would long be finished by now!" Gray gritted through his teeth.

"Guys! I think I'll go look for Natsu. I'm a bit worried. Maybe he's trapped or needs help or something. Usually, his fights don't last this long" Lucy suggested, "Will you manage on your own?"

"Yeah, Lucy! Don't worry about us. We got this under control!" I answered and forced a huge water wave to flush away numerous evil puppets.

"Make sure that Flame Breath got his shit together and finish this job!"

I smiled at Gray's comment.

 _Although his words are rude sometimes, indirectly you can hear his concern for his comrades. I think he would never admit this, but he cares for Natsu too. Even_ _though they often throw insults at each other and argue most of the time._

"Alright! Then.." She took one of her golden keys and recited her familiar quote to summon one of her Celestial Spirit Mages, "Open the Gate of the Maiden! Virgo!"

As soon as Virgo appeared she bowed and asked "Princess! Is it time for my punishment?"

"NO!" Lucy shouted embarrassed and face palmed. "We have to find Natsu!"

"At your command, Princess. This way please!" She pointed to a hole, she dug in no time.

"See you later guys!" Lucy waved to us before she disappeared in the hole.

We fought for 20 more minutes until I realized how exhausted I got. Several puppets ran in my direction and I used my Water Cane to strike them all within one blow.

 _Okay, Juvia. Hang in there! There aren't many left._

I glanced at Gray to see how he was doing. He froze the ground in front of him and created a single towel of ice spikes that impaled his opponents.

And while he was doing that, another puppet sneaked up behind his back, ready to attack him.

"Nooo!" I yelled and immediately used my water whip to restrain him from doing so.

"Huh?" Gray turned around, just to see the lifeless puppet lying on the ground. His eyes then followed my water whip and found their way to mine. He nodded thankfully and gave me one of his charming smiles.

This action caused my heart beat very fast and I happily returned the smile.

 _Unbelievable, what a simple smile of him does to me.. Damn hormones._

As I calmed down a bit, I tried to focus again on punching the bad guys. But with time my body grew tired and I lacked concentration. I began to stumble, a sign that the strength slowly left my legs to stay on the ground.

"HEY! Watch out!" Gray screamed in my direction.

"W-what?" I sensed something from above and looked up. My eyes widened in shock when I saw a couple of the enemies in mid-air prepared to strike.

 _Fuck, I'm not fast enough to do something or have the power to defend myself. ..Eeek!_

I shut my eyes and raised my hands above my head, knowing that this wouldn't protect me from anything, but it was all I could do at that moment.

 _And hope. Hope that they will disappear._

Only a second later I felt a cold breeze and when I opened my eyes, I saw a giant shield of ice above me, protecting me from the coming attack.

Next thing I saw, the guys were struck with arrows and fell to the ground.

"Hey, you're okay?" I heard Gray's gentle voice as he walked up to me.

"Y-Yeah.." I answered while processing what just happened.

Then all at once, all the puppets, dead or alive, vanished into thin air.

"Look, I think it's over. So Lucy and Natsu finally succeeded."

"Tsk. Took them long enough!"

After we met them, we learned that Natsu and Happy were split up. The evil guy cast an illusion spell that hindered Natsu from finding Happy. Only with Lucy's help they found each other, before finishing the bad guy off.

Needless to say, that we were all tired and exhausted when we entered the train.

Natsu as always had his problems with public transport. He tried his best not to puke but for a certain person his constant whimper and whining prevented him from his much-needed sleep.

 _And yes, it's Gray I'm talking about._

"Fuck!" He said angrily and got up from his seat, "This is unbearable! I'm going to another cabin. It's impossible to have your peace here."

I watched him open the door to the last section of the train and disappear there.

 _I understand him. We're all pretty whacked as hell and we're gonna need 2 hours until we arrive back in Magnolia. Hearing Natsu try to hold his content of food in his stomach isn't really relaxing.._

Nonetheless, I somehow dozed off for some time and woke up by Lucy asking me if I wanted to eat some snacks.

I looked around and saw some tablets with fruits and drinks placed on the little side table in our four-seat. Lucy must have ordered them for us. I was really grateful since I needed to refill my energy.

In comparison to us, Natsu wasn't feeling any better, if anything he was feeling even worse when he saw all the food before us. Seeing this, Lucy came over to him and started to stroke his back, so he really didn't puke in the train.

"Hey Lucy, I think I bring this also to Gray" I pointed to the fruits and drinks, "He must be hungry by now."

"Okay, I'll stay here with Natsu."

When I entered the last section of the train, I realized that it was completely empty. I passed by some four-seats, until I saw the one, where Gray was sitting, leaning his head slightly on the window.

 _Wow, he's really the only one in this section. Also, it's much quieter here. His eyes are closed. Is he still sleeping?_

As there was no side table where he sat, I put the stuff on the seat right next to him and sat down across from him.

 _He looks so vulnerable right now. I'm wondering what he's thinking or dreaming about._

"Are you done staring at people in their sleep?" he said in a calm voice, eyes still closed.

I blushed immediately. "W-What?"

Then he opened his eyes and smirked at me.

"I-I wasn't staring!" Of course I was. _He's too irresistible.._

"I-I thought that you might be hungry, so I brought you some stuff!" I tried to draw his attention to something else, although he knew this very well.

"Ah, is that so.." He continued to look at me.

At this point, my blush didn't want to go away and only increased under his gaze. I looked down, my heart started to beat very fast and I also started unconsciously to play with the hem of my top.

"I.. um.. I also wanted to thank you for earlier!" I said shyly, biting my lips.

"For a moment there, I was really scared and afraid of the upcoming pain. I was too weak to do something. If it wasn't for your help and that shield of ice, I would be… well.. um.. " I struggled with my words, then looked him in his beautiful eyes.

"So, thank you very much for protecting me, Gray!" I sincerely bowed to him.

He just warmly smiled at me.

"Hey if I remember correctly, you saved my ass first!" He joked, "So thank you too! I think that makes us even now." *winks*

 _Oh gosh! He winked at me! And he even thanked me! I'm pretty sure that I look like a tomato by now. I think I need to splash some cold water to my face to cool down._

Just when I got up and was about to tell him that I'll be right back in a moment, the train braked abruptly and I, not able to hold on anything, fell forward and crashed into the super-hot body of Gray Fullbuster.


	24. Chapter 24

**Chapter 24**

 **Gray's POV**

"Uff!" I heard Lockser's muffled voice against me.

 _Right, she just got up from her seat and was about to say something before we heard the sudden brake noise and the train abruptly stopped. With force she was thrown forward to me._

"Hey, is everything fine? Did you hurt yourself somewhere?" I asked worried, my hands on either side of her waist for support.

Her head was leaning against my chest and my nose was kinda buried in her hair which smelt like flowers.

 _Mmm~ She smells so good.._

I took a deep breath again, savoring her scent, before she turned her head and looked up to me.

"No, everything's okay.." she said softly and blushed after realizing how close our faces were, "S-sorry!"

Something inside me wanted her near like this. She tried to get up, but my grip on her became tighter and hindered her from doing so.

I could feel her rapid breathing against my lips and smiled. _Was she nervous around me?_ _Cute._

Her hair was slightly messed and I had the urge to put it in place. So I reached my right hand towards a strand of hair that stuck to her face and put it behind her ear. My fingers lingered a bit longer there and I unconsciously stroke her cheek.

 _Her skin is so soft and warm._

For a moment she closed her eyes and let herself enjoy my touch or so I thought. Then I felt her hand twitching on my thigh. "G-Gray.." she said in barely more than a whisper and slowly opened her eyes that glistened with lust.

 _Fuck- This look!_

Again something stirred inside of me and I wanted to touch her more. I caught her staring at my lips while licking hers.

 _Damn.. they look so delicious._

By now my hand cupped her face and pulled her closer and closer to mine until our lips were only an inch apart.

"Fuck this!" I gently leaned in and captured her mouth in a long languorous kiss. Her warm lips were unbelievably soft and sweet that I had trouble to contain myself.

My other hand that was still on her waist, worked its way to her hips and drew her up to me.

Not breaking the kiss which became more heated with every second, she straighten up from between my legs, only to straddle me and pressing herself up against my chest.

 _Fuck, this girl is the end of me._

Her hands found their way behind my neck and when she slid her fingers through my hair, she slightly pulled on them, giving me nothing but pleasure.

I ran my hands from her hips to her thighs and back up to her butt to give it a little squeeze. She moaned into me and that turned me on even more.

 _Damn.. those mini-shorts should be forbidden. I can feel her very naked skin, when I glide my hands across her legs._

 _...Always. She always shows so much skin, no wonder other guys can't keep their eyes off of her. But now I'm the lucky one to touch those damn sexy legs of hers~_

The tip of my tongue brushed her lips and when she slightly parted them, I deepened our kiss. Our tongues mingled. Her desire became tangible as mine.

" _Ahh... Gray... mhh~_ " She said between our kisses, not holding back her moans anymore.

I started to kiss her neck and found immediately her sweet spot.

"This feels too good.." She slowly began grinding on me, and sent shivers all over me.

Now it was my turn to groan. I tried to hold her still before I would lose all my willpower and take her right here in a fucking train. But it was no use. I enjoyed it too much.

Suddenly, we heard the door being opened.

"Graaay! Juviaaa! We're already here, why aren't you coming?" Lucy's voice rang through the cabin.

As if waking up from a dream and realizing what just happened, Lockser jumped up off me, bright red like a tomato, cupping her cheeks with her hands.

"What did I just- Oh Mavis! I-I am so sorry. I-" She stuttered shyly. Her whole expression then turned in something like sadness. And guilt? _Guilt because of what just happened between us?_

She turned away from me and started walking to the exit door.

Instantly, I stood up from my seat and grabbed her by her hand.

"Wait! What's the matter?"

"..."

"Now come on. At least look at me.." I said in a gentle voice. Something troubled her, I could feel it.

She met my gaze and became shy all over again.

"Tell me" I pleaded.

"I don't normally do t-this. And in such a place.. I-I feel awful, l-like some bitch in heat.. And I am not one of them! Really! I'm just really sorry."

She covered her eyes with her free arm and continued in her insecure voice "This is s-something one is supposed to do with the person they l-like, because it's s-special.. And I-I know that you d-don't l-like me t-that way..."

 _She's really something else. Always so kind to everyone. Regarding their feelings. Helping everyone out. Putting them always first, only herself at last. The girl who always put on a strong facade and didn't want to share her worries with others, so she "wouldn't bother" them, this girl is now standing here before me, vulnerable, practically shared her feelings towards me, and thinks I don't like her?_

"Baka!" I laughed and wrapped my arms around her, taking her in a heartwarming embrace.

"You do remember, that **I** initialized the kiss. Because I wanted it, and you. It had nothing to do with your hormones driving the roller coaster. Well, not entirely!"

"Hey, that isn't funny.." She lightly smacked against my chest.

"For me it is. D'you think I hadn't notice the way you always look at me, being so nervous when I'm with you, your constant blushing whenever I tease you or how your eyes want to undress me?" I winked at her.

"Gray!", she pouted in return "First, you always strip down without even noticing it! And second, why didn't you say anything? Now I feel even more embarrassed."

"What? Would it have been better with Mira always there and giving her more material for her stupid love collection? No thanks. This woman gives me already the chills."

"That's just how Mira is!"

"Now, come on, let's go to the others before the train leaves!" I took her hand in mine and walked outside, where we saw our friends.

"Damn guys! What took you so long? I even thought you got lost in there, but then again, it's a train! And there's an exit sign above the door." Lucy looked really pissed until she saw our intertwined hands and immediately gave us a smile.

"Now's time for dinner! Let's go eat, I'm super hungry!"

"Natsu.. Your timing is always so awful.." Lucy shook her head and started walk with him.

Just before we joined them, I bend down and whispered in hoarse voice to my girl, "I hope you're prepared for what's coming after dinner, Juvia~ I won't hold back anymore."

She widened her eyes and looked up to me with her blushing face.

"J-Just n-now, y-you called me by my first name!" She pointed out.

"Yeah? What, shouldn't I have said that?" I asked a bit confused.

"No, it's not that. It just made me really happy." Snuggling up against me, her smile grew bigger and bigger.

"Now let's go. I can't wait to have dinner."


End file.
